


LVMEN-IN-OBSCVRO

by baeconandeggs, t_dragon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Age Swap, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, EXO-CBX, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-05-06 09:24:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14638908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dragon/pseuds/t_dragon
Summary: Quiet college student by day and the city's superhero by night, Byun Baekhyun is unpredictable and frankly odd. And more often than not he finds himself within the cramped apartment of medical intern Park Chanyeol at one in the morning, watching the man with the elf-like ears cover bandages over battle scars





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #:** BAE077
> 
>  **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended. (Please do NOT delete or edit the disclaimer.)
> 
>  **Author's Note:** So, this has been a journey, I have to say... First time writing for BAE, and it's probably been my most stressing fic fest so far. I felt a pressure to do good, considering how big this fest is in the fandom, and especially the BaekYeol fandom? I'm happy I chose a prompt that I felt really comfortable with writing, even though it's been tough, and I really had fun writing it as well! I hope you readers at least managed to understand a few of the little nerdy bits and bobs I added, so if you found something you know what it is, please add it in the comments so I can see that I'm not alone in the nerdness! To my prompter, if you read this, thank you for the wonderful prompt, it's been amazing! And to my two loves; thank you for all the help with this story, it's truly been invaluable!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story has now been chaptered, and bonus chapter added!

 His breathing was labored, coming in small huffs, as he pressed a hand hard against his side. It was painful, but less painful than if he would try running across the rooftops without holding himself together.

 His knees were trembling so much that he almost collapsed after every jump, only catching himself with his free hand against railings or the roofs, whatever was close enough. But as he dropped down on top of the small metal balcony, his legs finally gave out, making him crash down. Through the open window he could see a figure jumping in shock from the sudden noise, and a small smile pulled at his lips.

 “Holy shit, I thought I told you to stop scaring me!” the figure exclaimed, still not turning around, and he wished it would, because he was just lying there, rather pathetically, still keeping pressure on his side to try to stop the bleeding, unable to move or even speak. “Why are you back here again? I didn’t see anything on the news-”

 Vision going blurry, he closed his eyes, feeling his consciousness being pulled under. He knew that he probably should not give in to the sleepiness, but it was just so hard to stay awake…

 As darkness began to surround him, a voice cut through it all, a voice filled with worry and fear, and he wanted to hush it, tell it not to worry, but he was already gone.

 Yet again, Lux passed out on Park Chanyeol’s balcony from his injuries sustained fighting villains.

 

*

 

 Seven years ago, a horrible accident turned a young boy’s life upside down. Byun Baekhyun was merely sixteen years old when he lost everything, including himself.

 He barely has any memory of that day, most wiped away by the accident. All he can remember is smiling and laughing so much that his cheeks and jaw were hurting, his mother singing along to some song on the radio, and his brother valiantly trying to rap.

 He _knows_ what happened, but he learned it through the news and other people telling him. There was some kind of accident in the lab situated just in the outskirts of the city, something went wrong with the particle accelerator as they were performing tests, and it lead to hundreds dying, even more suffering from the ionizing radiation thrown out across the city and its surroundings. They said it was similar to what happened during a solar flare, but on Earth, and not from the sun. Something about energy and electrons and atoms and molecules, but Baekhyun was never good at the science stuff.

 An incredible force basically tore him apart and put him back together; not quite the same anymore, very much changed. His face was still the same, his body as well, but the color of his hair and eyes changed. It started slowly, like color trickling out of him. A lock of white hair, a patch of blue in his iris. Then it sped up, until he was left with unnatural blue eyes and white hair, when he before had had brown eyes and black hair.

 He spent months in the hospital, the first couple of weeks in an induced coma as the doctors did not know what to do with him. He had been so close to ground zero, yet he still lived, seemingly unharmed.

 But there was something strange with him. At moments, Baekhyun seemed to _glow_ . Many tests were performed, but the doctors and scientists could not solve why or how. And when he was finally woken, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Which was even more strange, since things _should_ have been out of the ordinary.

 Baekhyun should not have lived. He should have died that day, along with his mother and brother, but instead he was alive and not quite… Human. Something else, something more.

  _Undefinable._

 

*

 

  _“L… Lux… Lux? Lux!”_

 Lux came awake with a start, eyes springing open and immediately darting around to take in his surroundings to determine the level of danger. Something dark loomed over him, but with a few blinks, the daze disappeared, allowing familiar features to be seen, and Lux relaxed.

 “You’re awake?” Chanyeol asked, and Lux gave a small nod, too exhausted to do much more at the moment. “Ah, thank goodness, almost thought you were a goner…”

 Even as Lux’s eyes slipped close, he had to smile at that. _As if_. A few pesky flesh wounds would not take him out that easily…

 “Don’t you even, these wounds are pretty serious,” came Chanyeol’s voice, more stern than worried or relieved now. “You look pale enough to make me want to give you blood transfusions, but that’s not something I can do in my apartment. I stitched you up, though, so you shouldn’t bleed too much more.”

 Lux slowly flexed his fingers, trying his muscles out before he tried something else, something requiring more strength. After a few seconds, they started to warm up, and he let the warmth flow through him, warming the rest of him up. It was not nearly as good as it was when he was unharmed and full of blood, but it was good enough.

 “You know, that sparkly shit is really freaky…,” Chanyeol muttered, and Lux blinked his eyes open on confusion. Following Chanyeol’s line of sight, he raised his head with a groan, holding it up long enough to see little sparkles trickle out of the stitched wound on his abdomen.

 “Sorry for being partially made from light,” Lux grunted back, letting his head fall on top of the pillow again with a sigh. “It makes me feel better.”

 “I know, I know, but still, you’re literally leaking light. Gotta admit that’s pretty weird,” Chanyeol mumbled as he got up from the bedside, stumbling around in his small apartment to put some things back, and discard other things. Lux watched him for a moment, before he closed his eyes again. Being beaten up really was no walk in the park, even with his durability and increased healing.

 “Dude, I was ripped apart by something similar to a solar flare, then put back together, of course it’s pretty weird?” Lux sighed, throwing an arm over his eyes. Funnily enough, even though light was part of him now, he still wanted absolute darkness when he rested. “My DNA was altered by a freak accident, I shouldn’t even be alive, so I’ll take ‘pretty weird’ and ‘freaky’ any day of the week.”

 The noises stopped, and only if Lux strained did he hear Chanyeol’s breathing, that was how quiet it turned.

 “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

 Lux did a peace sign with the hand laying against his temple. “No worries, I’ve heard worse. What’s got your sunshine panties in a twist, by the way?”

 The noises picked back up again as Lux heard Chanyeol let out a deep sigh, and then there were footsteps approaching the bed again. And even though he knew it was only Chanyeol coming closer, Lux could not help but tense up. His habits and instincts were too ingrained into him by now.

 “Nothing, it’s just… It’s been a long week,” Chanyeol said, plopping down on the edge of the bed and making Lux yelp and hiss as it disturbed him. “Oh, shit, sorry! Anyway, I need to sleep, you probably need to sleep as well, so I’ll take the sofa. Change the bandages once a day and come here if you start feeling worse - or better yet, go to the hospital.”

 Lux snorted at that, Chanyeol’s responding chuckle almost too low to hear. Hospitals were a no-go; they required actual names and contact information, and Lux would never give that.

 Not even Chanyeol, who had helped him for almost a year now with various wounds and injuries, knew his real name. Actually, there were only three people who knew, and they would never reveal it.

 “Take it easy for at least a week, okay? I know you think you’re invincible and all that shit, but this one was pretty serious. I don’t mind helping you, but I’d rather not have you dying on me.”

 Lux lifted the arm thrown over his eyes to give a mocking, two-fingered salute, receiving an eyeroll in return.

 “Get some rest, Lux,” Chanyeol said as he got up and walked the few steps over to the sofa, lying down on it. “I really hope it’ll be some time until I see you again.”

 And really, the words should not sting as much as they did. He knew why Chanyeol said that, and he understood why, but at the same time, Lux could not help but feel hurt over it.

 

 A few hours later, just before the sun peeked over the skyline, Lux was as quietly as possible slipping his suit back on, and sneaking through the room. One look at the poor resident physician told him he did not have to worry, though. Chanyeol was out like a snuffed candle, the dark bags under his eyes more pronounced in the pre-dawn light. Yet again, Lux felt that guilt creeping through his veins, over forcing Chanyeol to take care of him instead of getting his well-needed sleep, but there really was no one else Lux could turn to.

 Chanyeol had the medical training, and he had offered his help, so it would be foolish of Lux to turn him down.

 Sighing, Lux turned away from the sleeping man, and slipped out through the window for the umpteenth time in almost a year, escaping into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

 Baekhyun and Kim Jongdae had been friends since forever. They had met in kindergarten and immediately recognized a kindred soul, and had stuck to each other’s sides ever since. (In)famously known as the Beagles, everyone knew that if one was close, the other was not far away. And could probably be heard as well.

 Jongdae had been outside of the affected area during the accident, visiting his brother, but their parents had not been, and had perished just like Baekhyun’s family. They had both returned when the officials deemed it safe enough, to find most of their lives destroyed.

 It was Minseok, Jongdae’s older brother, who had found Baekhyun in the hospital. He had had to go through the records of people hospitalized to make sure none of their parents had survived, and had recognized Baekhyun.

 Jongdae had stayed by Baekhyun’s side during the coma, through the awakening, and during Baekhyun’s rehabilitation. Even as the color drained out of Baekhyun, Jongdae stayed and told him that he still looked like before, just a little different. Even as Baekhyun accidentally lashed out with his powers, upset for whatever little reason, Jongdae stayed and told him he was still the same person, just a little different. Even as Baekhyun cried himself to sleep, over everything he had lost, Jongdae stayed and comforted him as well as he could.

 And when Baekhyun was finally released from the hospital, it was kind of obvious and natural for him to move in together with Jongdae and Minseok. With no immediate family, the three orphans grouped together and made their own family. At first, Baekhyun had been unsure about the arrangement, because even though he was close enough to Jongdae to be able to call him brother, with Minseok there it felt as if he was intruding. But Minseok quickly dispelled those illusions, and after Baekhyun had moved in, it did not take long for him to become close with the older Kim brother as well.

 

*

 

 “Hello, my star and only light, how are you this fine morning?”

 Baekhyun snorted but did not open his eyes, face turned towards the sun to soak up as much of its rays as possible. He had changed out of his costume and was now in a pair of sweatpants, legs dangling over the edge of the window. The chilly morning breeze would probably be too cold for a normal human to be shirtless in, but Baekhyun was not normal.

 Along with his control over light, he could also control his body temperature and radiate warmth. Something about stars and fusion and whatnot - Baekhyun really was not too interested in the mechanics behind what he could do. He could do it, he used it, and that was it.

 “Shit, that looks like it hurts,” Jongdae muttered, and just because, he had to poke the bandages across Baekhyun’s abdomen, that were already sporting a red stain.

 Baekhyun blurted out a loud and very colorful curse, falling backwards into the room and getting the air pushed out of him as his back collided with the floor. He might be damage resistant, but he was weakened at the moment!

 “Oops,” Jongdae oh so very helpfully said, kneeling down next to the whining boy on the floor. “Sorry, didn’t mean to…”

 “How did you not mean to poke my wound when you  _poked my wound?!_ ” Baekhyun exasperatedly shouted, glaring up at Jongdae through tear-filled eyes. “Dae, I swear on everything, I’ll chop of your fingers if you don’t stop touching things you shouldn’t touch!”

 “Nice to see you both so lively at this early hour, but maybe keep it down? We  _do_ have neighbors,” another voice chided, and Baekhyun turned to the newly arrived with a pout.

 “Hyung, it’s all his fault!” Baekhyun said, pointing accusingly at Jongdae, who gasped indignantly.

 “I know, I heard you guys,” Minseok said with a chuckle, before turning away. “Breakfast is ready!”

 Glancing over at each other, Baekhyun and Jongdae quickly scrambled up from the floor and raced after Minseok into the kitchen, Baekhyun hissing under his breath. If Resident Physician Park could see him now, he would probably throw a hissy fit…

 

 For most of the citizens of Ashlake City, their lives were put on hold after the accident. There had been barely any structural damage, most of it only around ground zero, but the death toll on the other hand had been massive, and the lingering radiation had caused sickness and death in those not already affected. Emergency camps were set up around the city, outside of the radiation perimeter, and hazmat suit-clad soldiers had scoured through the streets and buildings, trying to get as many out as quickly as possible. Only the dead were left behind, slowly rotting away as it was deemed too risky to go inside and take care of them. They would still be there after the radiation cleared enough, after all.

 It took three weeks for the radiation to clear enough for authorized personnel to go inside and start cleaning up. Another two weeks until the public was allowed inside. Most took a few more weeks to grieve and try to pick up the pieces after the accident, but then most started to slowly get back to where they had been.

 After a year, the city had healed to not quite okay, but close. And this also led to many kids and teenagers being behind in their classes, especially those who, like Baekhyun, had spent a long time in the hospital. Age groups were suddenly heavily mixed, but most took this for granted, since it was caused by an event that had affected them all in one way or another.

 Forever supportive of his best friend, Jongdae decided to not go back to school until Baekhyun could. It caused a few fights between the Kim brothers, but Minseok had to concede in the end. When he wanted to, Jongdae could be rather persuasive.

 Or just really obstinate.

 So the boys ended up in the same class throughout high school, and then moved on to university together.

 Trying to get a degree in something that would not require inflexible, set working hours, Baekhyun decided on Journalism, to be able to keep up his vigilante activities as well as a job. Jongdae decided on a degree in Business, thinking it could be a good base for whatever he felt like doing later on. This meant that except for a few elective courses, the two did not have any classes together.

 And being who Baekhyun was, he did not make any close friends - or friends at all - not wanting to let anyone close enough to put them in danger, or have them figuring out who he was. Staying silent in class and sitting at the back, he made himself rather invisible to the rest of his classmates, resulting in barely anyone noticing he was there.

 But Baekhyun was okay with that. If it led to keeping people safe, he was okay with not having any friends. He had a few really close ones, and that was enough.

 Almost enough, at least. There was one thing that Baekhyun missed, but that was such an impossibility that he did not allow himself to even think about it. Because that was something he would never be able to allow himself to indulge in.

 

*

 

 “Hey, Park, you’re looking tired!”

 Chanyeol came to a such a sudden stop that he almost stumbled over his own feet, placing a hand over his chest as he looked around, then spotting the man responsible for his near-accident.

 “I really don’t need more people in my life scaring me, Soo!” Chanyeol whined as he walked over to where the shorter neurologist was standing, next to the nurse desk.

 “I didn’t scare you, but do you seem so jacked up on caffeine that you’re skittish,” Kyungsoo chuckled, accepting some papers from one of the nurses with a grateful smile. “You’re not getting enough sleep? I know things are hectic, so you should make sure to get your rest. How can you be a good doctor-”

 “-if I don’t follow the rules myself, I know,” Chanyeol sighed, tagging along as Kyungsoo headed down the corridor towards his area of the hospital. “I had a friend emergency, that’s why.”

 “Oh? Is your friend okay?” Kyungsoo asked with a frown, sounding genuinely worried - slightly too worried about someone he did not know. But Chanyeol had been talking vaguely about this ‘friend’ for some time now.

 “Yeah, yeah, they are,” Chanyeol mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck and stretching his back a little. “Just fine, nothing big.”

 Kyungsoo gave a smile as he nodded, coming to a stop outside of the door leading into the labs.

 “That’s good, then, I’m happy,” Kyungsoo said, using his thumb to motion for the break room down the hallway. “I would suggest some rest, but I guess coffee will have to do. See you later.”

 “Rest, yeah right,” Chanyeol chuckled airly, before giving a resigned sigh that had Kyungsoo laughing. “Lucky he who gets that… See you, Soo!”

 

*

 

 One of the precautions Baekhyun had recently started with involved getting help from one of Minseok’s friends - a neurologist in training named Do Kyungsoo. He had accidentally gotten a glimpse of Lux, puzzled the pieces together, and offered his help. And this help included getting regular check-ups to make sure that Baekhyun was not going nuclear or something, whilst at the same time trying to figure out  _how_ everything worked within Baekhyun. There were still a lot of mysteries surrounding him, after all.

 Hence why Baekhyun was this evening sneaking around the hospital, a mask over his lower face and a pair of glasses sort of covering his eyes, wishing, hoping and praying that he would  _not_ run into a certain tall doctor. Because that was a mess Baekhyun did not ever want to deal with.

 Making it to the right place in one piece (and more importantly, without being seen by his personal late night house call doctor - was it still a house call when it was Baekhyun dropping into Chanyeol’s house?), Baekhyun slid into the room with a relieved sigh.

 “Hey, Doc,” Baekhyun greeted the other with a sigh, as he dropped his backpack onto one of the chairs and pulled his mask off.

 Kyungsoo glanced up at him with a smile, motioning for the examination table, and Baekhyun diligently hopped onto it, legs dangling over the edge.

 “You’re sounding awfully chipper,” Kyungsoo mumbled as he continued to fill something out - eyebrows scrunched up a little from what Baekhyun could see. “Something wrong?”

 Baekhyun leaned back onto his hands and gave another sigh.

 “Not really. A lot to do in school. A lot of shit to deal with in the city. Do you know how long it’s been since I had a sleep-in?”

 Kyungsoo turned towards Baekhyun with an amused smile, raising an eyebrow.

 “You do know that you can quit at any time,” he said, and Baekhyun gave a third sigh and a pout. “You don’t have any responsibility whatsoever to continue to fight crimes just because you’ve gained powers.”

 “Yeah, well, I have powers, and now I feel obliged to use them for good,” Baekhyun muttered, sitting up straighter as Kyungsoo rolled his stool closer. “Regular testing today?”

 “Mm, I also want to take a look at your wound,” Kyungsoo said, pinning Baekhyun with a stare as Baekhyun froze and shrunk in a little on himself. “I heard from Chanyeol. He looked like he was about to collapse at any second, and told me he had had a ‘friend emergency’.”

 Baekhyun groaned as he instead of just going for rolling up his sleeve, took his shirt off. Still sore, he winced as the movement agitated the wound.

 “Well, at least you kept the bandages on,” Kyungsoo mumbled as he snapped on gloves, focused on Baekhyun’s abdomen.

 “Kept the bandages on? Please, I even changed them!” Baekhyun drawled, hissing as Kyungsoo began to unwind the bandage.

 “I am thoroughly impressed,” Kyungsoo deadpanned, putting the bandages away and taking a look at the wound. Soft yet firm fingertips began to skirt around the wound, and Baekhyun clenched his hands into fists as he tried to breathe through the pain. “Good thing you managed to find a good doctor at least…”

 “Found and found, I sorta collapsed in front of him,” Baekhyun mumbled, memories flashing past in his mind, and he squeezed his eyes shut as Kyungsoo came across a more sore spot. “Aren’t you supposed to be gentle with wounds?!”

 “Hush, stop being such a baby,” Kyungsoo said, and Baekhyun was pretty sure he could see the doctor grinning. “How  _did_ you meet Chanyeol, by the way? I’m still amazed by the fact that you somehow managed to rope my friend into this mess whilst still keeping him in the dark.”

 “Keeping him in the dark is for his own safety,” Baekhyun mumbled, holding his arms up as Kyungsoo began to bandage his abdomen again. He did not  _like_ putting people into danger, not when the whole purpose of what could people in danger was to protect people. And if that meant keeping Chanyeol in the dark, then so be it. It was not that Baekhyun wanted to do that, but he had to. With great power comes great responsibility, in the very wise words of Uncle Ben, and that responsibility meant, simply, to keep people out of certain things. There were already too many involved to Baekhyun’s liking. “The less people knowing who I am means less people in danger of being kidnapped, tortured… Or worse.”

 “Thank you for pulling me into it,” Kyungsoo chuckled, giving Baekhyun a look that had the younger roll his eyes.

 “You basically threw yourself into it on your own, too curious about my  _strange condition_ ,” Baekhyun accused the older, who gave a full-on laugh. “I wouldn’t be able to throw you out even if I tried!”

 “What can I say, you’re not only an interesting patient, but also an interesting person, you keep drawing me in,” Kyungsoo said, fastening the bandage, smile growing a bit softer as he sobered up a little. “Why are you still holding back?”

 Staring at Kyungsoo for a long moment, Baekhyun then sighed yet again, and relaxed his entire posture. Shoulders slumping, his hair and eyes paled, until they were softly glowing. His skin seemed to get a gentle luster to it as well, and small pinpricks of light appeared dotted over it, like little stars embedded into Baekhyun’s skin.

 “I know it’s uncomfortable for you to restrain yourself, so why do it when it’s only us here?” Kyungsoo asked, preparing everything and exchanging the gloves.

 “It’s become habit… I’m getting more and more used to concealing it to everyone, and so used to being scared someone who isn’t supposed to see it seeing it,” Baekhyun answered as he pushed his hair out of his eyes, holding his arm out for Kyungsoo.

 Kyungsoo hummed as he fastened the tourniquet around Baekhyun’s upper arm and then wiped Baekhyun’s elbow fold, before picking up the needle. Baekhyun looked away from that part - he had never liked it, and his extended time in the hospital after the accident, with all the tests taken on him, had never helped him getting over it. As the needle slid into his skin, Baekhyun hissed under his breath, teeth clenched.

 When the needle was securely beneath his skin, Baekhyun looked back, seeing his blood slowly filling the little tube. As with basically the rest of Baekhyun, his blood had been changed as well. It was not that deep kind of red other people had. Baekhyun’s blood was ruby-like, shining like a prism and with small sparkles throughout it. Like as if he was genuinely bleeding gems. Kyungsoo found this extremely intriguing, but Baekhyun not so much. Just yet another reminder that he was no longer completely human.

 

 When Baekhyun arrived at home later that night, it was to the smell of a home-cooked meal. Shuffling into the kitchen, Baekhyun found Minseok in there, stirring one of the pots.

 “How’s Kyungsoo?” Minseok asked as Baekhyun came closer, leaning his hip against the counter.

 “You sounds like a mom,” Baekhyun deadpanned, making Minseok chuckle.

 “I feel like a mom most of the time,” Minseok sighed, faked exasperation in his voice.

 “Not cute, hyung,” Baekhyun said with a scrunch of his nose and a shake of his head. “Not cute at all. No wonder you’re single.”

 “Who said I was single?” Minseok asked, wiggling his eyebrows which had Baekhyun laughing. “Are you okay, though? You’ve seemed a bit more down than usual, I guess, lately.”

 “What are you trying to say, that I’m always depressed?” Baekhyun joked, before giving a sigh. “I don’t know, I just… Lots going on with school and stuff, I guess. Don’t think it’s more than a momentary slump, though, so no need to worry.”

 “Okay, let me know if there’s anything I can do, though,” Minseok said with a small smile.

 “You’re already doing a lot for me, hyung,” Baekhyun sincerely said. “But yeah, I will.”

 Minseok held out one arm, and Baekhyun cuddled against his side, wrapping both of his arms around Minseok’s waist, resting his head on Minseok’s shoulder.

 All of a sudden, there were the sounds of footsteps getting closer, before a new pair of arms wrapped around Baekhyun.

 “What are we hugging for?” Jongdae chirped, head resting on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Or are you just trying to steal my hyung, Baek?”

 “Stealing him, he’s all mine now,” Baekhyun loftily answered, holding on tighter to Minseok as Jongdae screeched and tried to pry him off.

 It ended in giggles and laughter, with Minseok jokingly berating the two and then ordering them to set the table.


	3. Chapter 3

 It was a slow day in school, and Baekhyun was rather bored. It was one of those days where he had one early class and then a late class, and too lazy to go home and then back, he would camp out in whatever quiet space he could find. Most of the time he would sleep, to try to catch up on the sleep lost to watching over the city at night.

 But today, he was sitting by one of the windows in the library, people watching. Cheek propped up on his folded arms, Baekhyun slowly blinked, the sunlight across his features soaking into him. At least it was light he had gotten, and not darkness, because light felt a bit more reassuring…

 Baekhyun perked up a little more as he caught sight of a familiar figure. Jongdae was on his way to one of his classes, late as per usual. Baekhyun gave a small smile at it, rolling his eyes a little, because really - Jongdae should have learned by now that swinging by the café to get himself a coffee. No matter how cute the cashier was, and Jongdae had clarified that she was  _really_ cute.

 Almost sprinting over the courtyard, Jongdae was not paying attention to anything around him, probably panicking a little over his lateness - but Baekhyun saw.

 Baekhyun saw the scooter advancing, its driver having apparently decided to take a shortcut through the courtyard, even though this was strictly prohibited. Baekhyun saw how the driver was looking down at his phone instead of where he was going. And Baekhyun saw - because he was completely unable to look away from it - how the scooter collided with Jongdae, flinging him backwards and down onto the pavement.

 Standing up so quickly that his chair screeched across the floor before falling with a loud bang, Baekhyun managed to grab his bag before he rushed through the library, ignoring the librarian who was screaming at him. His heart was vibrating in his throat, breath coming fast and shallow, as he tried to get to Jongdae as quickly as possible.

 A mass of people had started to gather, but Baekhyun did not care about that as he pushed through, falling to his knees next to Jongdae. Lying on his back, Jongdae was cradling his arm against his chest, face twisted with pain.

 “Fuck, I’m sorry, man! I didn’t see you!” somebody said, and Baekhyun looked up to find the scooter driver standing by his fallen scooter, looking a bit shaken. Rage coursed through Baekhyun’s veins, because who the fuck was he to apologize like that after the accident having been caused by his inability to put his phone down as he was driving over a restricted area?

 Feeling the heat bubble beneath the surface, Baekhyun almost missed the touch on his arm, only noticing it as it became more insistent, and Baekhyun looked down to find Jongdae staring at him with a warning in his eyes.

 “Let’s get you to the hospital,” Baekhyun finally mumbled, letting the anger fizzle out into nothingness as he instead carefully helped Jongdae up and away, leaving behind the spilled cup of coffee.

 

 “It just feels like I’m hitting a wall with this, you know?” Kyungsoo sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I know something’s wrong, but everything looks right?”

 “I can take a look at it and maybe be able to help?” Chanyeol offered, almost a bit offended by the hesitant look Kyungsoo shot him. “Hey, I might be a pediatrics resident, but I still know some shit about other things!”

 “Yeah, I know, it has nothing to do with your lacking knowledge or skill,” Kyungsoo said, lips curling up a little bit. “It’s just… I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s kind of a secret project?”

 “Oh,” Chanyeol said, eyes widening a bit. “A secret? I love secrets! Now you have to let me in!”

 Kyungsoo gave a chuckle and shook his head, opening his mouth to say something, but his eyes froze on something, all humor melting away from his face and being replaced by dread.

 “What the…?” Kyungsoo mumbled, and looking up, Chanyeol saw two boys being led away, one of them obviously not feeling too well. “ _Shit._ I need to go, Chanyeol, I’ll talk to you later!”

 Before Chanyeol had the chance to say anything, Kyungsoo was power walking down the corridor, calling out to the boys. The second one, the one not looking like he was about to collapse, turned his face to look at Kyungsoo, eyes flitting over to Chanyeol for the barest of moments.

 There was something familiar about that boy… Something about him that Chanyeol could not quite place, but there was a tickling at the back of his brain telling him he should be able too… A long fringe and glasses covered the boy’s eyes, a mask hiding his mouth, but there was still something about his face that Chanyeol recognized.

 Then the moment was broken as the boy looked away, and he and the other boy was hurried away, Kyungsoo striding after them. Did Kyungsoo know them?

 Shrugging a little, Chanyeol turned and headed in the direction of his department, not really putting more thought into it. If Kyungsoo knew the boys, there was a chance that Chanyeol had seen them because of that.

 But there was still a small part at the back of his mind that continued to mull over it, though Chanyeol tuned it out.

 

 The nurse gave Kyungsoo a confused look as he joined them, but he quickly told her that he knew them, and she got back to her work.

 “What happened?” Kyungsoo asked Baekhyun as he watched the nurse carefully exam Jongdae’s arm.

 “Some idiot tried to cut through the courtyard on a scooter, and ran into Dae,” Baekhyun answered, teeth clenched hard. “He says his arm is hurting, so…”

 “It’s rather swollen, so I think we’re going to have to take an X-ray of it, sweetie,” the nurse said, giving Jongdae a warm smile. “A doctor will soon come and take a better look at it, so sit still for now.”

 “Why can’t he take a look at it?” Jongdae asked, pointing at Kyungsoo.

 “Because I’m a neurology intern, I’m not allowed to,” Kyungsoo answered, before giving the nurse a thank you and a smile. She smiled back before exiting the room and leaving them alone.

 “Are you at least allowed to give some pain medication?” Jongdae asked, puppy eyes fully deployed as he turned to Kyungsoo.

 “Sorry, but no,” Kyungsoo said, shaking his head. “Make yourself comfortable, you’ll probably be here for a while.”

 Jongdae muttered something under his breath as he scooted a bit higher on the hospital bed, getting some help from Baekhyun to lie down comfortably.

 “So,” Jongdae began, looking around the room they were in. “I’m guessing that was Chanyeol, considering how Baekhyun almost broke my other arm when he saw him.”

 Baekhyun seemed to choke on an inhalation, so Kyungsoo gently patted his back to try to help him out, whilst snickering over Jongdae’s question.

 “Yeah, that was Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo confirmed. “You’ve never seen him before?”

 Jongdae pinned Baekhyun with a hard stare, shaking his head. “Baekhyun refuses to let me…”

 “But, Chanyeol knows Minseok?” Kyungsoo said, frowning a little. Both Jongdae and Baekhyun turned to him with shock clear in their eyes. “They met through me, we used to hang out during uni sometimes, and we met up together every now and then as well. You sure you haven’t seen him before?”

 “I’m… Kinda sure?” Jongdae mumbled, tilting his head to the side, before frowning. “Wait. Does this mean hyung has known all along, but hasn’t told us he knows? Wow, top ten anime betrayals…”

 Kyungsoo snorted and shook his head, before nodding towards the door. “Speaking of your brother, I should probably go and call him, reassure him so he doesn’t freak out. I am a doctor, after all, so I can tell him there’s nothing to worry about.”

 “I thought you said you weren’t the right kind of doctor!” Jongdae gasped out, grimacing as he accidentally moved his arm.

 “I can’t help you, yes, but I know how injuries look, and I know you’re not in any danger,” Kyungsoo said with a wink, before slipping out into the corridor.

 

 The doctor arrived shortly after Kyungsoo left, just to confirm that yes, Jongdae would need an X-ray, but unfortunately, they were a bit backed up at the moment, but they would get Jongdae as soon as possible. Until then, he got some mild pain medication, and a temporary sling.

 An hour later, Minseok came, looking harried, calming down only slightly when he saw that Jongdae was his normal chatty self.

 After having made sure that Jongdae was safe, and chastising him for once again believing he could pick up a coffee before that class, and maybe this would not have happened if he would just go to class in time, and really, he had been so worried when Kyungsoo called him, and never do anything like that again - Minseok turned to Baekhyun.

 “Are you okay, Baek?” Minseok asked, and Baekhyun jerked in shock.

 “Huh, what? Yeah, I wasn’t there, I wasn’t hit,” Baekhyun said, shrugging a little. “Would probably have healed by now anyway.”

 “But you saw it happen, right? That must’ve been shocking as well?” Minseok said, ignoring Jongdae’s mutters about the unfairness of not having enhanced healing. “Are you okay?”

 Some would say that Baekhyun should be used to Minseok’s consideration now, after having lived with the Kim brothers for so long, but Baekhyun did not think he would ever get used to it.

 “Hm, I almost obliterated the idiot who did this, but I’m calmer now?”

 

*

 

 “Is this the secret project you’ve been working on?” a deep voice asked, and Kyungsoo almost poked his eye out with the lens of the microscope.

 “Fucking hell, Park, don’t scare me like that around medical equipment!” Kyungsoo hissed, placing a hand over his heart and looking up, before freezing.

 Because standing bent over the table where Kyungsoo had placed the folder with Baekhyun’s tests and results, was Chanyeol. And he was holding a sheet of paper, looking very focused as he frowned, slowly chewing on his lower lip as he read through it.

 Well, shit.

 “I understand that you’re confused by this,” Chanyeol said with a chuckle as he placed the paper on the desk again, looking up and meeting Kyungsoo’s gaze. “It looks like one hell of a mess.”

 “Ah, yeah, it is,” Kyungsoo squeaked out, hoping,  _praying_ , that Chanyeol did not realize what it was.

 But of course he did. He knew almost as much about it all as Kyungsoo did.

 “It’s Lux’s, right?” Chanyeol said, spreading the file out in front of him. “You know Lux, and you’ve been researching him?”

 Kyungsoo sighed and rubbed his face, deciding that there was no use in playing dumb.

 “Yeah. Not doing research in that way, I’m trying to help him understand more about himself, and make sure that he doesn’t go supernova or something,” Kyungsoo tiredly said. “That’s why it’s been a  _secret_ project up until now.”

 “Hm, I see,” Chanyeol mumbled, back to worrying his lip, and Kyungsoo almost laughed out loud at the obvious discomfort on his friend’s face.

 “Oh, also, I know about your association with him,” Kyungsoo flippantly said, smiling as Chanyeol proceeded to choke on something. “A ‘friend emergency’, huh? I knew all along.”

 Something seemed to click in Chanyeol’s mind; Kyungsoo could almost see the light bulb going off.

 “So that’s why you looked so worried every time I mentioned it,” Chanyeol said, and Kyungsoo gave a non-committing shrug as he looked down at his feet. “You knew, and you worried that he was injured, since he came to me… Why didn’t he come to you for help, when you obviously are given more access to him? Pretty sure he’d never allow me to draw blood from him.”

 Kyungsoo shrugged yet again, this time a bit more surely. Even though he had no good answer to the question.

 “I don’t know, really, I barely know how the two of you met, honestly. I think it was before I was introduced to Ba- Lux.”

 Double shit.

 Kyungsoo felt like slapping himself over his slipup - a slipup Chanyeol had obviously caught, since he cocked his head to the side.

 “You know his real name? You’re on first name basis?” Chanyeol asked, a small wrinkle of confusion appearing between his eyebrows.

 “Well… Yes, we are,” Kyungsoo conceded. “I sort of knew him before it was revealed who he was, and… It’s a long story, and a lot to explain, but he doesn’t want to tell you because he doesn’t want to put you at risk, so don’t pout.”

 “I’m not pouting,” Chanyeol argued, a pout on his lips.

 Kyungsoo raised a single eyebrow, and Chanyeol gave a groan as he put his elbows on the table in front of him, head dropping.

 “Okay, I might be a bit hurt over it, but I understand his reasonings,” Chanyeol mumbled as he finally lifted his head enough to peek over the edge of his glasses at Kyungsoo. “Still though, can I help in any way?”

 “You’re already helping a lot by stitching him up after every battle,” Kyungsoo began, sighing as Chanyeol shot him a look. “Fine, whatever, take a look and give me your opinion, it’s not like there’s anything incriminating there…”

 “Incriminating as in a clue to his identity?” Chanyeol mused as he fetched himself a chair, and made himself comfortable. “A shame, I’m curious now… Do I know him?”

 “You’d know if you knew him,” Kyungsoo muttered, getting back to his microscope.

 “Hm, right, with all the glowing and stuff,” Chanyeol hummed, obviously already absorbed by the medical evaluations in front of him, and Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.

 Considering how intimately Chanyeol knew ‘Lux’, he would have realized immediately when he met Baekhyun, even with Baekhyun suppressing his powers. Which was why Baekhyun took such precautions whenever he went to the hospital. For such a reckless young man, he could be rather cautious at times, and it honestly worried Kyungsoo.

 Because it was only with Chanyeol that Baekhyun made sure to take as many precautions as possible, and that left Kyungsoo with many speculations.

 A heavy exhaustion settling in his bones, Kyungsoo gave a sigh, and forced himself to focus on his work.

 

 “Hey, by the way?”

 Kyungsoo finished making the last of his notes, before looking up at Chanyeol. Chanyeol had taken off his glasses, squinting lightly at Kyungsoo, hair looking like he had ran his hands through it a million of times. As usual.

 “The other day, you were rushing after those kids?” Chanyeol began, and Kyungsoo forced himself not to show any outwards signs of his shock and horror.  _Shit._ Had Chanyeol put two and two together and realized? “I never got the chance to ask, but how did it go? I’m guessing you knew them, and one of them looked… Not so fine.”

 Releasing all of the air he had held in a relieved sigh, Kyungsoo dragged a hand through his own hair - apparently it was a habit they both had - before nodding.

 “He wasn’t, but he’s fine now,” Kyungsoo said. “He was hit by a scooter and landed badly, I think he ended up with a small fracture.”

 Chanyeol grimaced at that. “Wow, that sucks. So, who was he, considering how quickly you left me behind? A boy toy?”

 Kyungsoo proceeded to choke on his breath, entire face heating up.

 “Oh my god,  _no_! He’s Minseok’s younger brother!” Kyungsoo spluttered, Chanyeol’s eyes growing round.

 “Heh, well, that explains it, then…,” Chanyeol sheepishly grinned.

 “And before you start, the other kid is Minseok’s brother’s best friend, so no, not my  _boy toy_ either,” Kyungsoo muttered, turning back to his notes. “I don’t have time for such things…”

 “Otherwise you would get a boy toy…?”

 Kyungsoo responded with a well-aimed eraser, hitting Chanyeol’s forehead dead on.


	4. Chapter 4

 Another night, another fight. This time, it had been smaller things, like a robber that Lux had made quick work off. He had ended up with a bullet grazing his arm from that encounter, though, and even though it had not bled much, it was still bleeding, a few hours into his ‘shift’, so Lux decided to make a quick trip past Chanyeol’s apartment.

 Even though Kyungsoo had told him that Chanyeol had not made the connection, it would be a lie to say that Lux was not nervous. And he was also a bit in denial about that part of him that was a bit disappointed that Chanyeol had  _not_ made the connection. Really, they had seen each other so often over the last year that Chanyeol  _should_ be able to recognize him even when suppressing his powers - but in the end, it was for the best that Chanyeol was a bit dense.

 At least, that was what Lux was trying to tell himself.

 Gracefully landing on Chanyeol’s small balcony, barely making any noise, Lux squatted down and peeked inside of the apartment. He could not see the tall doctor anywhere, but he  _did_ hear the sound of running water. Making himself comfortable, Lux sat down, and waited.

 He did not have to wait for long, since the water turned off about five minutes later, and about a minute later, the door to the bathroom was opened. Chanyeol entered the apartment, humming on something under his breath, with only a towel wrapped around his hips. Lux tried to  _not_ stare at the droplets of water running down a rather shapely chest - but they were rather distracting.

 Did you get a lot of exercise working in a hospital, or was Chanyeol going to a gym to keep himself in shape? Because even though it was not sharp lines and hard planes, it was obvious that he lifted. And a little bit more.

 Okay, yeah, Lux should really stop gawking, it would be very embarrassing if he was caught like this.

 “Wow, I should’ve brought some change, you’re putting on a great show!”

 Chanyeol whipped around, the towel lifting just slightly from the sudden movement and showing off some thigh, as a strangled squeaky noise made its way out of his mouth. As he spotted Lux, he tried to cover his upper body with his hands, the towel slipping, one hand going to save it with a vice-like grip.

 They just stared at each other for half a minute, before Lux burst out laughing, clutching his stomach and falling backwards down onto the metal landing. Using the window frame, he pulled himself back up, half hanging into the living room as he dried tears from his eyes, whimpering and chuckling, his stomach starting to ache.

 “ _What even was that?_ ” Lux gasped, a giggle escaping his lips. “Oh my god, Chanyeollie, that… That sound, what even was it? Why are you trying to cover yourself? Holy shit, this is so funny…”

 The red was painted across Chanyeol’s entire face and ears, and down quite far on his chest, even though he was going for a stern look. It only made everything more entertaining, and Lux was forced to slap a hand over his mouth to keep the laughter in - a few giggles still escaping.

 “It’s not funny!” Chanyeol muttered, sounding a bit pouty, and it made Lux want to coo and pat his head. “Turn around so I can get dressed…”

 That made Lux sober up, as he tilted his head in confusion and curiosity.

 “Why? We’re both guys, and you’ve seen me pretty scantily clad. Hell, you’ve even undressed me!”

 The flush flared again, Chanyeol pressing the hand that had previously tried to cover his entire abdomen against his face, groaning.

 “I’ve only undressed you when you were unable yourself, like unconscious, and never until you were naked!”

 Lux snickered, shaking his head. “Now you’re just sounding like a pervert. But sure, my shy little bun, I’ll turn around and let you get dressed. Wait, are you insecure about your body? Or about certain parts? Because from over here you’re looking pretty good, do you want me to give you an all-over evaluation?”

 “No, I want you to shut up and turn around!”

 Lux laughed again, facing the twinkling stars whilst fighting the craving to turn around and see if the doctor really had anything to feel insecure about. But maybe that was taking things a bit too far…

 

 Chanyeol was still faintly blushing by the time he was dressed and had allowed Lux to come inside. Lux was staying silent, but there was a certain glint in his glowing eyes, and a certain curve to his lips, that had Chanyeol squirming a little.

 And when Chanyeol asked Lux to take off the top of his suit, a broad grin spread on Lux’s lips.

 “I think that’s unfair,” Lux positively purred. “I’m not allowed to see your body, but here you are, trying to yet again get me out of my clothes? My, oh my, doctor Park…”

 “That’s not what this is about, and you know it!” Chanyeol exclaimed, flustered.

 “Oh, really?” Lux drawled as he began to undress. “‘Cause you’re looking a bit hot and bothered right now…”

 “Lux, I swear on everything…,” Chanyeol whispered, hiding his face in his hands.

 Lux burst out laughing, wiggling himself free of his suit and holding out his arm.

 “Okay, okay, sorry, I’ll stop teasing you now, I promise.”

 Muttering under his breath, Chanyeol took a hold of Lux’s arm and got to work on the wound, Lux’s lips permanently curved into an amused smile.

 

*

 

 Baekhyun was feeling restless. He had a feeling that something was about to happen, and no matter how much he tried to ignore it, he just could not shake it.

 He was barely able to sit still during his lectures, chewing on his pen as he did his best to listen, but his mind was so far away.

 When he was finally done for the day and met up with Jongdae, there was a permanent wrinkle etched between his eyebrows.

 “Hey, Baek, are you okay?” Jongdae asked as they headed towards the subway.

 Baekhyun thought about the question for a while, but was not able to come up with an actual answer.

 “I… Don’t know,” Baekhyun answered honestly, letting Jongdae loop his arm through his own. “I have a premonition of sorts, I guess. Might be nothing, but I just… I feel worried.”

 “Hm, good thing you’re seeing the Doc today, then,” Jongdae joked, though there was worry in his gaze and tone. “Maybe he can help.”

 “Yeah, maybe…,” Baekhyun mumbled, giving a small smile that did not reach his eyes.

 What neither Baekhyun nor Jongdae noticed, was the darkness rising at the horizon, steadily swallowing the light.

 

*

 

 Chanyeol had some free time at the moment, and spent it walking around in the hospital, thinking things through. He had gotten quite a lot of information dropped onto him lately, and he was… Not really overwhelmed, but it was a lot to take in. Hence the walking around - he had found a long time ago that walking whilst thinking helped him quite a lot.

 It was when he was walking through the corridors near Kyungsoo’s department that Chanyeol stumbled upon someone. Or, not really stumbled upon someone, but rather almost stumbled because of someone.

 Because lazily lounging against a wall only two or three meters away stood a boy with near white hair and dark blue eyes, face mask pulled down to reveal a triangle-shaped mouth that coupled with droopy eyes made Chanyeol’s heart miss a beat.

 Pinpointing the flecks of light in an almost straight line, at the moment looking like pale beauty marks, and Chanyeol was sure he had stopped breathing.

 He was not glowing at the moment, like every other time Chanyeol had seen him, but Chanyeol was positive that this boy was the vigilante that visited him late at night, riddled with injuries for him to take care of. Chanyeol was  _sure_ of this, and when he gasped out the name, it only confirmed it even more.

 “ _Lux_ ,” had barely left Chanyeol’s lips before he saw the boy stiffen, eyes widening almost comically.

 

 “ _Lux_.”

 It was barely even a whisper, but Baekhyun still heard it. Of course he did. He was always so attuned to that voice, how could he not have heard it?

 Freezing in place, Baekhyun panicked. What was he supposed to do? Chanyeol was not supposed to learn of his real identity, yet here they were, Chanyeol obviously having recognized him.

  _Fuck!_

 Racking his brain and trying to come up with some sort of solution - or just anything - Baekhyun drew blanks. He was not prepared for this, not prepared at all, he had always been so careful that the thought of this happening had barely even crossed his mind!

 Before he had the chance to even try to gather himself, a hand wrapped around his arm, and Baekhyun was suddenly pulled into an empty room, before he came face to face with Chanyeol.

 It was bizarre, really, to see Park Chanyeol like this. Baekhyun had seen him so many times during the last year, but never as himself. Never as Byun Baekhyun, always as Lux.

 And never the Resident Physician Park Chanyeol, dressed in scrubs and a white coat, glasses perched on his nose. Baekhyun had seen the glasses before, but Chanyeol had always been in casual clothing, more often than not drowning in ridiculously large hoodies that Baekhyun was sure would cover him completely.

 “Holy shit, it really is you!” Chanyeol hissed, releasing Baekhyun’s arm in favor of dragging the hand through his hair, and Baekhyun would not be surprised if the other would start pacing back and forth suddenly. “You’re not glowing as much, but it really is you!”

 Pursing his lips, Baekhyun stood waiting for the mini-break to pass. Yes, it really was him, now could they move on?

 “I can’t believe this, I’m actually meeting the real you, the person hiding behind the mask-” Chanyeol continued to blabber on, before Baekhyun had enough and (gently) punched the taller in the stomach. The blow was not hard enough to do more than graze him, but Chanyeol gasped in a breath and stared at Baekhyun in offended silence.

 “You’re giving me a headache!” Baekhyun complained, crossing his arms over his chest. “What do you want?”

 “What do I want?” Chanyeol asked in an incredulous tone, before a look of contemplation laid itself over his features. “Well, I don’t know, really… I just pulled you in here by instinct. I’ve never before seen you in… This form, I guess?”

 Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at that, because he was  _pretty_ sure that was not true. And no sooner, Chanyeol slapped a hand to his forehead.

 “Ah, shit, the day Soo rushed after the two kids… One was Minseok’s brother, and the best friend was you, right? How could I not have seen it?”

 “Because I was making sure that  _this_ would never happen,” Baekhyun stated, motioning between the two of them. “I was careful, not making any mistakes- until now, I guess.”

 Chanyeol gave him a hurt look, and Baekhyun was pretty sure he saw a small pout as well.

 “How do you trust me enough to bandage you up, but not to give me your real name?” Chanyeol whispered, and it actually made Baekhyun’s heart twitch. Not good.

 “It’s not about trusting you or not, it’s about  _protecting_ you. The less you know about me, the more safe you are. Don’t try to find my identity out, Chanyeol, I’m not worth the risk.”

 And with that, Baekhyun pushed past a still-shocked Chanyeol, and almost ran out of the room.

 

*

 

 After the random encounter, Chanyeol spent many nights mulling over it.

 Empty nights, since Lux never came to his apartment, sporting fresh injuries after his fights. Because fights he had, that Chanyeol knew. Even when there was no news about it, Chanyeol knew. Only a handful of Lux’s fights were mentioned in the media.

 The only thing that kept Chanyeol from going insane from worry that Lux might have died was the fact that there  _were_ news of him every now and then. Of course they told him nothing about how Lux was doing, but the fact that he was able to be out and about, stopping criminals, was enough of a testament that he was at least somewhat healthy. Even though Chanyeol knew that Lux had a tendency to push himself a bit too much sometimes…

 Yes, ever since the encounter, Chanyeol spent many nights tormented by thoughts about how Lux was actually doing.

 

 Lux was sauntering around over the rooftops, keeping an eye out for suspicious things. But only half of his mind was concentrated on his crime-fighting task.

 The other half was concentrated - completely hung up - on a certain tall doctor. He could still remember the look of shock and fascination, and Lux had to admit that he hated it. He hated when people looked at him like a guinea pig, like some sort of mystery to unravel. He had seen enough of that to last him a lifetime and some more.

 But at the same time, he  _knew_ Chanyeol. Even though he might know all of the doctor’s interests and family member’s names and things like that, he  _knew_ Chanyeol and his personality and habits. So he  _knew_ that Chanyeol did not mean his fascination like almost everyone else had - or maybe he was simply hoping for that?

 Groaning, Lux kicked the concrete in front of him, making it crack, the shape of his foot permanently imprinted into it, before he collapsed down over it, head and arms hanging over the edge of the roof.

 He had no idea what the fuck he was supposed to do, and he just felt so confused. At least he could distract himself with some crime fighting, and luck seemed to be on his side as he heard a scream from almost right below him. Peering down, he saw what look like an ongoing robbery, and emptying his mind, he quickly vaulted over the edge and down to the ground.

 

 Kyungsoo was having a rather stressful day. His career of choice was not the most calm at times, and at the moment it was very hectic. Add to that having had to take over certain duties after a certain someone freaked out, Kyungsoo was having  _a lot_ on his plate at the moment.

 And he really did not need more added to it, but unfortunately, Park Chanyeol was there to make his life just a bit harder.

 “Hey, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol said, pulling Kyungsoo to the side when he reached him, glancing to the sides. “Have you seen  _him_?”

 Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Kyungsoo shook his head. “Chanyeol-”

 “No, no, it’s not like that, I don’t care about his name or whatever, I just want to know that he’s okay,” Chanyeol hurried to say, looking down at Kyungsoo with sincerity strong in his eyes. “He haven’t been to my place since… Yeah. But I know he’s been out, and I  _know_ how reckless he can be, so I just want to know that he’s okay. Give me at least that?”

 Kyungsoo sighed and rubbed his forehead, not knowing if he should say something or not…

 “He’s doing okay,” Kyungsoo finally decided on saying, not telling Chanyeol that Baekhyun himself was not okay. “I’ve been helping out, but you obviously have more effective training in dealing with his injuries than I have. I’m good for the inside kind of stuff, you’re better for the outside kind of stuff.”

 “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been worrying about…,” Chanyeol mumbled, before catching himself and holding his hands up. “Not that I doubt your abilities, but like you said, I have more training in it, and-”

 “I know what you mean, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo interrupted the taller with a small smile. “Honestly, if it was up to me, I’d much rather have you help with the injuries like you have been doing, but… It’s not up to me.”

 “It’s up to him, yeah,” Chanyeol muttered, pushing his glasses up to rub at his eyes. “Just… Let him know that I don’t care about his identity and all that? I understand his secrecy, and I mean, it’s not like I need another name for him? He is who he is, no matter what name he goes by.”

 Kyungsoo could not help but burst out laughing.

 “I’m not going to tell him something taken straight out of Romeo and Juliet!” Kyungsoo protested, making a disgusted face. “You know they always blame the messenger for all the death at the end, right?”

 Chanyeol took a moment to think over the words, before a blush settled over his cheeks and ears - and Kyungsoo would lie if he said he did not take a bit of pleasure from seeing it.

 “Oh my  _god_ , Soo! It’s not like that!” Chanyeol hissed out, embarrassment making his voice a little bit higher. “It’s not like that, it’s about making sure he’s okay and doesn’t die from a badly taken care of wound!”

 “Okay, but now I’m actually offended, you really think I’m not qualified enough to give proper care?” Kyungsoo asked, frowning, because really, even though he was a neurologist intern, he did have a few years of medical school before that!

 “No, no, of course not, it’s not like that, and it’s probably just as good practice for you to keep your skills up to date,” Chanyeol exasperatedly said, dragging a hand through his hair. “I just- I don’t know. I’m worried. I know he’s in good hands with you, but I still worry since I haven’t seen him in such a long time. Okay?”

 “Yeah, I get it. I’ll forward your message, and hope he doesn’t laser beam me to death,” Kyungsoo said with a roll of his eyes.

 “As in ‘don’t shoot the messenger’? Can he really shoot laser beams?” Chanyeol asked, his gloomy expression being exchanged for one of awe.

 “Goodbye, Chanyeol, I have stuff to get on to!” Kyungsoo dismissed the taller, walking away before Chanyeol tried to get any more information out of him.

 

 “I ran into Chanyeol today. Or, well, he ran into me, on purpose.”

 Baekhyun stiffened, back towards Kyungsoo, hating how he was holding his breath for the next words.

 “He’s worried about you.”

 Something warm trickled into Baekhyun’s chest, but he tried his hardest to ignore it.

 “I think you should let him take care of you again.”

 At that, Baekhyun finally turned around to face Kyungsoo, who was watching him with a blank expression.

 “Why?” Baekhyun hesitantly asked, going for an awkward chuckle. “Not confident in your own skills, Doc?”

 “Nothing to do with confidence, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo answered, seriousness penetrating his gaze and voice, and Baekhyun felt like he was witnessing the future chief physician Do. It was a bit terrifying, to tell the truth. “I’m in neurology, I deal with nervous systems. I have the knowledge and practice of basic medicine, but Chanyeol is a pediatrician, and yes, you’re not a child anymore, but his area of expertise is closer to what you need than mine is.”

 Kyungsoo was making some good points, and both he and Baekhyun knew it. Which was probably why Kyungsoo was making them. But Baekhyun was not sure if the good points outweighed the bad ones - he was  _afraid_ that they might not.

 “He recognized me, hyung,” Baekhyun mumbled, fiddling with the edges of his sleeves. “He’s going to want to know my name, and I just… I don’t want to put him in that danger. No matter how much better it might be for me.”

 Kyungsoo sighed and walked over to Baekhyun, ruffling his hair with an affectionate yet slightly strained smile.

 “You’re too hard on yourself, and too good to others, sometimes,” Kyungsoo said, placing both hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders. “If you don’t want to give him your name, he won’t force it out of you. I know Chanyeol, and I know he’ll respect that wish. Just think about it, okay?”

 Worrying his lower lip, Baekhyun gave a short nod.

 The funny thing was, Baekhyun had thought about it countless times already, ever since their encounter…

 “Also, he babbled something about a rose smelling sweet no matter what it’s called or some shit,” Kyungsoo offhandedly added as he moved away from Baekhyun, leaving the younger blushing and groaning in embarrassment.

 

*

 

 Yet another lonely night, Chanyeol lying in his bed, facing the window. He still left it with a crack open, in case of… The impossible happening, it seemed like now.

 With a sigh, he closed his eyes, to try to get some sleep. He might not be able to help Lux at the moment, because of his own mistake, but that did not mean he would allow himself to slack off and let his real patients suffer. There were other people that needed him, and Chanyeol would never let himself let them down.

 The sound of wood sliding against wood was suddenly heard, and Chanyeol’s eyes were immediately wide open again. He blinked a few times, staring in disbelief at the glowing figure making his way into Chanyeol’s tiny apartment.

 “Uh, you know, I might be a superhero, but it would be nice with some help,” Lux drawled, and it was not until then that Chanyeol realized that he was grunting with effort, obviously hurt in some way or other.

 Instantly, Chanyeol threw the covers back and hurried over to Lux, flailing a little as he tried to simultaneously support and help the other inside. They stumbled a few times until they were safely inside, and Lux was able to collapse on top of Chanyeol’s unmade bed with a pained exhale.

 Chanyeol was still so taken aback by Lux’s surprise appearance that he just stood and stared, mind blank.

 “I came here to get help, not to have you watch me die,” Lux muttered, and Chanyeol sprang into action.

 “Ah, shit, sorry, I’m just surprised!” he exclaimed as he went to Lux’s side and helped him sit up. “What’s wrong? Any cuts or deeper wounds?”

 “Nah, more punching than stabbing today,” Lux answered, hissing as he motioned over the general area of his ribs. “Might have torn some stitches open, but not sure. Honestly more worried over broken ribs.”

 “Okay, that’s not good, let’s get you out of this so I can examine you,” Chanyeol said, trying to get his professional face on.

 Obviously, Lux was out to make it hard for him.

 “My, oh my, Doctor Park, we haven’t seen each other in almost weeks, and you’re already trying to get me out of my clothes?” Lux purred with a lazy smirk, though it was somewhat broken by the winces he gave every time he moved. “What if I want to take it slow, huh?”

 Fighting down the heat in his cheeks, Chanyeol frowned and pinned Lux with a hard stare.

 “You disappeared on me and had me worrying that the next thing I’ll hear about you is that you were found dead in a ditch, and this is how you’re going to act when you  _finally_ show up again?” Chanyeol questioned, the worries he had harbored for quite some time now all bubbling up to the surface as he continued to speak. The smirk slipped from Lux’s face, eyes a bit empty, but in that closed off sort of way. “Logically knowing that you had Kyungsoo to help you, I still felt so  _worried_ and useless, all because I fucked up and you ran out before I had the chance to redeem myself. I don’t  _care_ about getting your real name. It’s not something necessary for me to have to continue to help you. If it makes you feel better that I don’t know, I won’t try to find it out. Simple as that.”

 Lux regarded him with guarded eyes, lips pursed into a thin line.

 “It’s never ‘simple as that’,” he finally said, voice barely above a whisper.

 Placing his hands on Lux’s knees, Chanyeol leaned a little bit closer, making sure that the vigilante could see the sincerity in his eyes.

 “To me it is. Now, let’s get you undressed so I can examine you, because I really don’t want you dying in my bed after it took you so long to return.”

 Lux looked like he was about to run away, but then he slowly gave a nod, and Chanyeol let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding.

 

 “Kyungsoo told me you quoted Romeo and Juliet to him,” Lux said after a while as Chanyeol examined him, and Chanyeol froze for a moment, heat back on his cheeks.

 “Can you actually shoot laser beams?” Chanyeol quickly asked, tone fakedly chipper.

 Lux looked at him with the rising of an eyebrow, before a sweet smile made its way upon his lips. “Answer mine and I’ll answer yours.”

 Chanyeol worried his lower lip for a moment as he thought about it, eyes fixed on Lux’s ribcage. He was pretty curious about the laser beams thing, and had been since Kyungsoo’s avoidance, but at the same time…

 “Shit, okay, fine, I’m too curious…,” Chanyeol groaned, sitting back on his hunches and sighing. “No, I didn’t quote Romeo and Juliet. I told him I didn’t care about your name, you’re still  _you_ no matter what your name is, and, well… Apparently that’s a big thing in Romeo and Juliet.”

 Lux snorted and shook his head in disbelief.

 “No shit? The whole dying thing and the whole rose thing are like what people remember most?”

 Chanyeol looked back up at Lux in shock. “What, I never said anything about a rose!”

 “You’re a doctor,  _how_ do you not know the quote?” Lux cackled, whimpering a little as the motion made his ribs ache, and Chanyeol quickly got back to his examination.

 “I studied  _the body_ , not  _literature_ ,” he grumbled, being met by Lux’s tutting.

 “Still though.”

 “Still though nothing. Can we move on to the laser beams now?” Chanyeol pleaded.

 “Oh, right, I forgot…,” Lux hummed, gaze going to the ceiling as he thought about the question. “Technically, yes? Laser is light, right? I can create light, so I should be able to create laser beams as well?”

 “That’s so fucking cool…,” Chanyeol whispered as he identified the area which apparently hurt the most, if you went by the loud yelp followed by a hiss. “Imagine doing it and going ‘IMMA FIRIN’ MAH LAZER’, that would be awesome…”

 “Wow. You’re such a nerd,” Lux deadpanned, almost screaming as Chanyeol checked if his ribs were broken - maybe a bit harder than necessary. “ _A mean nerd, fuck!_ ”

 Chanyeol just chuckled, even though he did feel a bit bad about it.


	5. Chapter 5

 Chanyeol and Lux quite quickly settled back into the routine they had had before the ‘accident’. But there was something different there now, in the background - something had changed. Both felt it, but neither brought it up. Sometimes ignorance and denial was for the best, and sometimes the fear of change held you back.

 Fortunately for Baekhyun, he suddenly had other things on his mind, as Minseok peeked his head into Baekhyun’s room one early evening, smiling so widely that Baekhyun could not help but wonder if it hurt.

 “Why are you looking so creepy, hyung?” Baekhyun slowly asked, putting his pen down.

 Minseok only laughed good-naturedly at that, and Baekhyun began to worry for real.

 “Get dressed and come on, I have something to show you!” Minseok said, patting Baekhyun’s door frame before bounding off.

 Frowning in worry and fear, Baekhyun slowly got up and fetched a hoodie, before padding in the direction of the front door. Jongdae was already standing there, shoes on and a cap almost hidden beneath his large hood. He looked over at Baekhyun with questions filling his eyes, but Baekhyun merely shrugged. He had literally no idea either.

 “Shoes, gotta have shoes, Baek, put them on and let’s go!” Minseok sing-sang, and Baekhyun shot Jongdae a wide-eyed look as he put on his shoes.

 As soon as Baekhyun was done, Minseok herded them out of the apartment, and down to the street. It was still early enough for people to be out and about, but the masses were starting to thin out quite a lot by now. With Minseok taking the lead, Baekhyun and Jongdae huddled together at the back, arms looped together.

 “Is he  _humming_?” Baekhyun whispered, suspiciously eying the older. “Dae, you gotta do something.”

 “What, why  _me_?” Jongdae whined, keeping it low thankfully.

 “Because he’s your brother!” Baekhyun hissed back, earning himself a pout. “He’s your family.”

 “Okay, but now you’re breaking my heart, babe, because you’re family too,” Jongdae drawled, before turning serious again. “Let’s just wait and see where we’re going, and then we can try to handle… Whatever this is.”

 Not really convinced, Baekhyun still conceded as he gave a slow nod. There did not seem to be much else they could do but run anyway, so might as well sit back and enjoy the show, so to say.

 

 “Here we are!” Minseok suddenly declared, pride clear in both his voice and from how he was literally beaming, currently rivaling even Baekhyun.

 They were standing in front of an old subway station, in a distant part of town, obscured rather well between other buildings. And both Baekhyun and Jongdae were extremely confused, because what the hell?

 “Oh, sorry, we’re not actually  _here_ -here yet,” Minseok said,  _giggling_ , before motioning for Baekhyun and Jongdae to step over the chains and inside. “There we go, there we go, be careful!”

 As Baekhyun and Jongdae began to make their way inside, Jongdae suddenly gave Baekhyun a weak push, nodding forwards.

 “You go first, you’re the superhuman,” he said in a low voice, and Baekhyun bared his teeth.

 “Wow, betrayer…”

 But Baekhyun still did as told, walking ahead, letting his guard down a little the further down they got, his light starting to softly light up the abandoned station.

 “I swear, if a feral ghoul suddenly comes charging, I’ll sacrifice you, hyung,” Jongdae whispered, and Minseok’s responding laugh echoed around them.

 “No, don’t worry about it, I checked this place out several times to make sure it’s safe,” Minseok said in a too-loud voice, echoing between the walls, and Baekhyun’s instincts were flaring up inside of him to the point where he could barely suppress them. “Come on, we’re heading this way!”

 Minseok walked over to an obscured door, opening it before walking inside, and Baekhyun and Jongdae hesitantly followed. Walking down a staircase, they then found themselves in a dimly lit tunnel, the lights in the ceiling flickering, so weak that Baekhyun’s muted glowing was more or less overpowering them.

 “Okay, yeah, no, this is some real Fallout shit, what are we doing here?” Jongdae muttered, sticking close to Baekhyun yet again. Not that Baekhyun really minded,  _at all_ …

 “This is why mom didn’t let me go out for almost a month after I let you play Fallout 3,” Minseok amusedly said, looking over his shoulder at Jongdae, eyes sparkling with humor. “You had nightmares for so long.”

 “Heh, I remember that, you cried once when I accidentally snuck up on you,” Baekhyun chuckled, nudging Jongdae with his shoulder.

 Jongdae frowned, a small pout on his lips, as he nudged Baekhyun back. “I played it when I was 13, and it was a horrible experience. Do you know how freakingly scary ghouls are? I’m just happy I didn’t actually shit myself…”

 “Aw, my sweet little nerd,” Baekhyun giggled, grinning widely as Jongdae shoved him a bit harder and whined.

 “Dear children, we have arrived,” Minseok solemnly declared, with an elaborated gesture bringing their attention to a large steel door, looking as if it was reinforced three times over.

 “There’s no handle,” Baekhyun commented, pointing towards the obvious lack of a way of getting inside.

 Minseok held up a finger in the air with an ‘ah!’, before whirling around and lifting a cup to reveal a small keypad.

 “Don’t know if this is more secure or not, but that’s the way it is,” Minseok chirped, still in high spirits, as he put the code in, making the door pop open. “There we go!”

 Almost skipping over to the door, Minseok pushed it open with his back, spreading his arms out, a giant grin on his face.

 “Welcome to our new headquarters!” he exclaimed, looking a bit like a child on Christmas. “A place for us to operate from, without risking exposure by doing it through our apartment!”

 Eyes widening and jaw going slack, Baekhyun almost rushed inside, surprised and honestly shocked.

 “A secret lair?!” he heard Jongdae basically scream from behind him, but Baekhyun was too busy with looking around to really care. It was a safe place for them to confine his vigilante tasks to, and that had been something Baekhyun had been hoping to find for a long time now. Even though it was a bit dark and damp and scary at the moment, they should be able to fix it up nicely enough!

 All of a sudden, something popped, and Baekhyun jumped a meter into the air as a strangled scream made its way out of his throat.

 “Congratulations on your new place, time to consecrate it and get shitfaced!” Kyungsoo cackled, coming out from the shadows with a bottle of champagne in his hands.

 “Oh dear, Doc, tough week?” Baekhyun shakily snickered as he tried to get his heart back under control.

 Groaning, Kyungsoo took a few deep clunks straight out of the bottle, before handing it over to Baekhyun.

 “You have no idea… Thank you for going back to Yeol, because I honestly wouldn’t have made it if I had to look after you as well,” Kyungsoo said, sighing deeply, and placing his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders. “Speaking of Park, we have some things to discuss.”

 Mirroring Kyungsoo, Baekhyun gulped down quite a lot of the champagne, the fizzy bubbles making him shiver a little.

 “Is there more alcohol, because I feel like that’ll be needed,” Baekhyun muttered as Jongdae came up beside him and stole the champagne away.

 “I was serious when I said we’re going to consecrate this place by getting shitfaced, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo answered in a strangely somber voice, face completely emotionless. “But you’re not getting anymore until we’ve had the discussion. It’s important. And no, pouting won’t help you.”

 Sighing, Baekhyun dragged a hand through his hair, and nodded.

 “Okay, fine, get on with it, let’s get this over with.”

 Immediately, Minseok sidled up to Kyungsoo’s sides, forming a united front as the two tiny hyungs.

 “We’ve had some discussions, and we feel like it’s probably for the best if we let Chanyeol in on the secret,” Kyungsoo began, holding a hand up as Baekhyun opened his mouth. “The very reason behind acquiring this place is to make it safer for everyone involved, right? And that includes Chanyeol as well, no matter how you feel about it. It’s more safe to have him know your identity and about this place, than have you stumble into his apartment every other night after fighting some villain. It’s easier to lead bad people to his apartment than here.”

 It made sense, and Baekhyun was really starting to hate the logical discussions Kyungsoo was suddenly having with him. His resolution was wavering, because it  _would_ be safer for Chanyeol to help him in their new headquarters, but at the same time it would also put the taller in a position of danger by merely knowing Baekhyun’s identity.  _Lux’s identity_.

 “You know I don’t like this, but he has a point,” Jongdae suddenly said, coming over to drape an arm over Baekhyun’s shoulder.

 “I know he has a point, that’s the annoying part,” Baekhyun mumbled, worrying his lower lip. “I don’t want to do that to him…”

 “But?” Kyungsoo prompted, eyes looking wider than normal.

 “But you’re right,” Baekhyun conceded. “It would probably be safer for him…”

 Kyungsoo gave an open and honest smile, nodding. “I know it’s hard for you, but I’m thankful you can be mature enough about it to recognize the benefits. I’ll let him know tomorrow, give you some time to get used to it, but not enough to come up with a bad excuse to stop it.”

 “Don’t underestimate my ability to come up with bad excuses quickly,” Baekhyun chuckled, but it was tinged with a little bit of sadness and regret.

 At least he would be able to get to know Chanyeol as  _Baekhyun_. He had never seen that as a possibility before, even though he had sometimes wished for it. Because as Lux, he could never become an intimate friend, unable to form a real bond on vague personal knowledge. At least that was some sort of comfort…

 

*

 

 “Hey, Chanyeol.”

 Chanyeol turned on his heel to find Kyungsoo standing behind him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

 “I have some important things to discuss with you, are you free right now?”

 Chanyeol looked around, wondering what kind of things that were important enough to want to talk about it in that very moment, and shrugged.

 “Uh, yeah, sure. My shift just ended, so I was just going to go home and collapse into my bed,” Chanyeol answered, walking over to where Kyungsoo was standing. “Is everything okay?”

 “Hm, yes, everything is fine,” Kyungsoo said, giving a smile as he headed in the direction of his part of the hospital. “I come bringing good news, actually. But let’s get somewhere private first.”

 Chanyeol just nodded as he followed along, a comfortable silence settling between them as they walked.

 When they were safely inside of the examination room Kyungsoo used as his office, Kyungsoo strode to the middle of the room and motioned for Chanyeol to sit down.

 “So. It seems as if though you have been bestowed a great honor.”

 Frowning, Chanyeol tilted his head in confusion, because Kyungsoo was not making any sense at all.

 “Our friend in common has managed to find a place to operate from, and has decided to invite you,” Kyungsoo said, a smile growing on his lips. “You’re going to learn the secret.”

 It took a second or two for Chanyeol to catch up to the meaning of the words, but when they did, he sat up straight with his mouth falling open.

 “Wait, what, for real?!” Chanyeol exclaimed, a little too loud if Kyungsoo’s wincing was anything to go by. “Holy shit!”

 Kyungsoo snickered as he patted Chanyeol’s shoulder.

 “Be ready by tonight, I’ll pick you up later. And please don’t mess this up like last time.”

 

 “How did you manage to even  _find_ this place?” Chanyeol asked in a hushed tone as they walked through the dimly lit tunnel, finding that the eerie space needed an appropriate voice.

 “Minseok has great connections,” Kyungsoo answered, stopping before a heavily reinforced door. Keying in a code, the door popped open, allowing Kyungsoo to push it open. “Don’t even ask, that’s all I know, and I’m just as confused over it. Just accept it.”

 “Well, it is Minseok, after all…,” Chanyeol mumbled, getting a small smile from Kyungsoo as they went inside, the door being properly shut behind them by the shorter.

 “Over here,” Kyungsoo said, motioning towards an area that was much better lit - and featured three other people.

 Minseok, who Chanyeol already knew, was standing leaning against a table, hands around the edges, giving Chanyeol a smile as he came closer. Another boy, who Chanyeol suspected was Minseok’s brother, was standing next to another table, leaning on another’s thigh with his elbow and looking very suspicious of Chanyeol.

 And lastly, sitting on top of the table, free leg dangling a bit back and forth, was Lux. Looking very non-Lux in the moment, dressed in casual clothes, light a bit more subdued.

 “Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo said, motioning for Chanyeol, before motioning for the others, “Minseok, Jongdae, and Baekhyun.”

 Baekhyun -  _Baekhyun_ \- gave a weak ‘Yo’ as his name was said, and Chanyeol could not help but raise an eyebrow at it.

 “So that explains why you talked like a teenager, you’re barely above it,” Chanyeol deadpanned, the shock of finally meeting them all like this completely blowing away his almost non-existent brain to mouth filter. Well, so much for trying not to mess it up yet again.

 Low chuckles filled the entire room as Baekhyun’s jaw dropped.

 “ _Teenager?_ You’re barely four years older than me,  _grandpa!_ ” Baekhyun indignantly spluttered, making Chanyeol’s eyes widen.

 “You’re  _23?_ That’s even younger than I thought, wow…,” Chanyeol mumbled, tilting his head a little. “Should you even be out fighting crimes at night?”

 “I’m  _23_ , not  _13_ ,” Baekhyun pointed out, frowning. “And Peter Parker was in  _high school_ when he started.”

 “Yeah, but Spider-man is a comic book hero, you’re not,” Chanyeol argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

 “I had my powers for longer than he did before he started with the crime-fighting,” Baekhyun said, sitting up properly and starting to look a bit more like the confident vigilante Chanyeol had taken care of so often during the late hours in his apartment. “I took my time to actually learn everything properly before I started doing it, and I’ve been doing it for three years already, so obviously it’s working-”

 Chanyeol held a hand up in confusion, to stop Baekhyun from continuing.

 “Wait, you’d been doing this for two years before we met? How did you take care of your wounds before that?”

 Immediately, Baekhyun sank down into his previous laid-back persona, leaning back on his hands and shrugging, glancing away from Chanyeol.

 “The minor things I handled myself, and, well… The internet is a great thing, and I had two confidantes to help me out.”

 Chanyeol looked at Jongdae - who was looking rather proud of himself - and Minseok, who at least had the decency to look slightly abashed.

 “I don’t even know why I’m surprised at this point anymore,” Chanyeol muttered, throwing his hands into the air.

 “See, this is why we can’t have nice things,” Kyungsoo chuckled as he walked over to Minseok. “Y’all make people agitated and exasperated!”

 “Don’t even try to drag me into that generalisation,” Minseok said with a frown, triggering Baekhyun and Jongdae into giving mirroring lazy smirks. “But, now that introductions are over with, let’s get on with it. We still have a lot to do with this place to make it… Functional. Suggestions on important things we need to have so I can write them down?”

 “Medical bay, obviously,” Chanyeol said, shrugging as everyone looked at him. “That should be top priority, since injuries is probably what we’ll have to deal with the most.”

 

 As the elders got to work with planning the new headquarters, Baekhyun merely observed everything. Putting his arm around Jongdae’s shoulders, he leaned his chin on top of his best friend’s head and stayed quiet.

 Baekhyun had seen Chanyeol many times before, to the point of where he had lost count, but he had never seen him interact with others before. During their meetings, it had mostly been serious conversations taking place, or joking with a dark undertone, the dangers that Baekhyun put himself through always out in the open through his various wounds and scrapes that Chanyeol had taken care off. But now, Baekhyun was able to see Chanyeol as his true self, the Chanyeol he had only gotten glimpses of before.

 And that made Baekhyun feel even worse about the situation, because Baekhyun was made from light, but Chanyeol  _was_ light, and Baekhyun never wanted the darkness to reach that light.

 “I don’t like him,” Jongdae suddenly mumbled, loud enough for only Baekhyun to hear him.

 “You’re jealous,” Baekhyun snorted, a small smile curving his lips.

 “Fuck no, I have nothing to be jealous of,” Jongdae said, a pout in his voice.

 “Exactly, so I don’t know why you’re acting jealous,” Baekhyun said, voice softening. “It will always be you and me, Dae, nothing will ever change that. Not him, not anything else.”

 Jongdae hummed, tapping his fingers against Baekhyun’s knee.

 “Yeah, I have a better-looking ass as well…”

 Completely unprepared, Baekhyun burst out laughing, throwing his head back so hard he almost fell from the table he was perched on. Three confused gazes turned towards them, but Jongdae only smiled sweetly, earning two eyerolls and one frown. Not too bad of a reap.

 “Can’t argue against that,” Baekhyun chuckled, and a grin was directed his way.

 

*

 

 They all helped with clearing up the headquarters, sometimes taking shifts as three had jobs and two had school, and sometimes gathering together and having lunch or dinner or whatever was appropriate.

 Chanyeol learned a lot about Baekhyun, things that had been hinted at before, but never confirmed since Baekhyun has always kept a bit mum about himself. Chanyeol could understand why he had, but he was very glad over the fact that he was starting to get to know the man behind the mask, so to say. It was refreshing, and he enjoyed it.

 He enjoyed it maybe a bit too much. Because with every loud laugh and teasing and blinding smile, Chanyeol felt himself soften a bit more. Even the whining and complaining had Chanyeol smiling, and he knew he was quickly approaching dangerous territory.

 After all, Baekhyun was valuing everyone’s safety above all, and Chanyeol suspected that he valued safety above his own happiness combined with someone else’s happiness. Baekhyun seemed to only keep to a few people, a group which now seemed to consist of four people, and not let anyone else in. Dooming himself to a life of loneliness.

 And that was honestly rather sad. And Chanyeol did not know if it was easier to try to stay away, or try to help Baekhyun. It seemed like both might hurt him.

 

 When Baekhyun had looked forwards to getting to know Chanyeol as himself, he had not realized just  _how_ wrong it could go. Things had started to go south even when Chanyeol only knew Lux, but it had been easier to ignore back then, easier to turn a blind eye towards it.

 Now… It was not as easy. Because Chanyeol was always  _there_. Before they had met every now and then for at max a few hours during the night, before Baekhyun could escape back into safety. But now, Chanyeol knew who he was, Chanyeol knew about HQ, Chanyeol  _helped_ them with it all. And Chanyeol had the means of getting in contact with Baekhyun in a whole other way, through his friendship with Minseok and Kyungsoo.

 And honestly, it scared Baekhyun a little. Especially how easily Chanyeol became a part of their lives like this,  _his life_ , a little bit as if it was natural. And that just made things worse.

 Baekhyun tried to hold back, but it was getting harder and harder with each passing day.

 

*

 

 Baekhyun was slowly wandering around the hospital, having some spare time before he was supposed to meet Kyungsoo. No longer afraid to get discovered by Chanyeol, he felt more relaxed, and like he actually could take his time to look around.

 Somehow, Baekhyun found himself outside of the pediatrics ward, no idea how he had ended up there. It was the part of the hospital that he had avoided the most, maybe that was why his feet had carried him there…  _Sure._

 Peeking inside, Baekhyun heard the sound of guitar notes and children’s laughter, and he was enticed to find the source. Walking in further, he came across a larger room filled with sofas and tables and chairs. Quite a lot of children were sitting on the floor in front of an armchair - in which Chanyeol was sitting, a guitar in his lap. He was playing a nursery rhyme, the children singing along with him, and Baekhyun froze in place.

 Baekhyun recognized the song. Overlaying Chanyeol’s and the children’s voices, like an echo from the past, was suddenly a woman’s voice. A voice so dear to Baekhyun, that he had not heard in such a long time…

 The nursery rhyme was what Baekhyun’s mom had sung for him as he grew up - at first whenever he had troubles falling asleep, and later whenever he was upset or sad, to calm him down. Hearing it in Chanyeol’s deep and so soothing voice was like a punch to the gut, but deeper.

 Baekhyun barely noticed the song ending - too caught up in his feelings - or the kids walking and running past him. It was not until Chanyeol looked over and noticed him that Baekhyun somewhat landed back in reality, pulling himself together and stitching it up.

 “Oh, hey?” Chanyeol said, quickly getting up and carefully placing the guitar on the chair he had been seated on, before hurrying over to Baekhyun. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

 Baekhyun made a v-sign as he gave a small smile. “All good, seeing Doc Do in a while, but I was a bit early, so… So you’re not only a doctor, but you also play the guitar? Wow, you’re really the perfect son-in-law, aren’t you?”

 Chanyeol scratched the back of his head a bit bashfully as a light blush settled across his cheekbones, and it tugged at Baekhyun’s heart. He blamed it on momentary weakness from the sudden memory assault. And he blamed his sudden need to coo and cup the pediatrician’s cheeks on that as well.

 “Don't know about that, really…,” Chanyeol said with an awkward chuckle. “It's not really that cool…”

 Baekhyun was about to answer when a nurse came up to them, curiosity clear in her smile.

 “A friend of yours, Park?” she asked, eyes on Baekhyun as she spoke. “What a cutie!”

 “Ah, yes, he's the younger brother of a friend of mine,” Chanyeol quickly said, and really, Baekhyun’s heart should not be clenching like that. Maybe it was a good thing he was in the hospital - if he suddenly had a heart attack, he would have better chances to survive it.

 The nurse nodded in understanding before being dragged away by a boy that suddenly ran up and took her hand, calling out a ‘nice to meet you!’ as she disappeared.

 “Sorry, thought it was better to give a vague explanation, it minimizes the risks, right?” Chanyeol mumbled, glancing down at Baekhyun.

 “Hm? Yeah, good thinking, you're fast on your feet, aren't you?” Baekhyun answered with a smile, before patting Chanyeol’s shoulder, a bit miffed with how high he had to reach to be able to. “Got to go, Doc Park, see you later! Don't make too many girls swoon with your perfect son-in-law vibe!”

 And then Baekhyun fled the scene, not even looking behind him to see Chanyeol’s facial expression, not even waiting to get a goodbye. He had to escape, and immediately.

 When Baekhyun finally arrived at Kyungsoo’s place, he was breathing hard, something nasty constricting both his lungs and heart. Rubbing at his left pectoral, Baekhyun tried to ignore it, but it was too great to ignore.

 “Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo said as he looked up, a frown forming on his face. “Are you okay?”

 ‘Yeah, I’m fine’ was what Baekhyun  _meant_ to say. But it was not  _what_ he said.

 “No, I’m not,” Baekhyun quietly admitted, hopping up onto the examination table and curling in on himself a little bit. “Just… Distract me for a while?”

 Without a word or question, Kyungsoo nodded and rolled his chair over to where Baekhyun was sitting, talking and carrying out his tasks as Baekhyun tried to get back the control over himself.

 

*

 

 Chanyeol was confused.

 For a few days now, Baekhyun had been acting a bit strangely, seemingly holding himself back a little. Instead of grinning his large rectangular smile, he gave a small smile. Instead of laughing out loud with his mouth wide open, he chuckled.

 And every time Chanyeol asked if he was alright, Baekhyun would just nod and brush it off as stress from school. And Chanyeol could understand that, but it did not seem as if that was all of it. Because it seemed as if Baekhyun was only acting offstandish with him. And Chanyeol could not help but wonder what he had done wrong.

 One day, as he and Baekhyun were alone together in HQ, cleaning up the place, Chanyeol could not take it anymore.

 “What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked out of the blue, startling Baekhyun who tensed up.

 Baekhyun half turned around, enough to be able to glance up at Chanyeol and give him a non-convincing smile, but not enough to not be able to hide.

 “Nothing’s wrong,” Baekhyun mumbled, and Chanyeol could not help but snort.

 “Baekhyun, honestly, I notice something is wrong. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but don’t lie straight up into my face.”

 Frowning, Baekhyun crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.

 “I’m not lying…,” he muttered, and Chanyeol rolled his eyes.

 “Okay, you might have a pretty stressful schedule at the moment, but there’s more to it. Much more,” Chanyeol said, noticing how Baekhyun pursed his lips.  _Bingo_. “And it feels like it has something to do with me.”

 “No, it doesn’t have anything to do with you,” Baekhyun claimed, but there was something in the way he was actively avoiding Chanyeol’s eyes that made Chanyeol doubt that.

 “Baek-”

 “Wow, it’s pretty obvious that this place is filled with dudes…”

 Before Chanyeol even had the chance to do much else than widen his eyes in shock over the unfamiliar new voice, Baekhyun was already moving - almost like at the speed of light. Did his powers include that as well? Chanyeol was very intrigued, but there were other more pressing matters to address.

 Spinning around, he found Baekhyun standing in front of him, light at Lux level, and a ball of light floating above one hand. And a few meters away from Baekhyun stood an unknown woman, eyes shielded by a pair of sunglasses, long, dark hair flowing in waves around her face.

 “Calm down, lightboy, I come in peace,” the woman drawled, holding up both hands in mock surrender. “I’m actually here about a job offer.”

 “A job offer?” Chanyeol could not help himself from asking. “What job offer?”

 “Oh, nothing that you’ve advertised on your own, but I’m offering my services on my own,” the woman said with a sweet smile. “I mean, where do you even post a ‘Searching for applicants for data security for Lux’? Would open up so many chances for the baddies to find out about this lair and attack, right?”

 “Data security…?” Baekhyun said, relaxing out of his fight stance a little bit, seeming as confused as Chanyeol felt. “You broke in here because you want to help us with the computer stuff?”

 The woman hummed as she walked further into the room, lifting her sunglasses and pushing them on top of her head now that Baekhyun seemed to have calmed down at least a little.

 “I mean, I guess you could say that? Pretty simplified, but basically yes?” she said, pointing towards the desk containing the computer they had used so far. “That’s not really cutting it, and, I mean, I was able to hack into it and gather enough information to get inside of here… So, yeah.”

 “So you’re saying we need you,” Baekhyun said, crossing his arms over his chest.

 “Considering that, and the horrible decor… Yes, I firmly believe that,” the woman said, before holding out a hand towards Baekhyun. “Lee Sunmi at your service!”

 Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun stared at the offered hand for a few seconds, Sunmi still smiling as she held it out.

 “Uh, yeah, don’t think anyone of us will take it, at least not until we know you’re actually who you claim to be, and here for the reasons you claim to be here for,” Chanyeol spoke up, and Sunmi sighed as she let her hand drop to her side.

 “I guess that’s fair enough… Do you have a piece of paper, Chanyeol? To write down my number?”

 Chanyeol looked around, finding something to write on, as well as a pen. As he was about to give it to Sunmi, Baekhyun took it and shot Chanyeol a look that told him to back up, and Chanyeol did as told. After all, Baekhyun was the one who could take an attack and who could protect Chanyeol, not the other way around.

 That was also when Chanyeol’s mind clicked, and he froze midstep.

 “Wait… How do you know my name?” Chanyeol exclaimed, noticing that Baekhyun had not thought about it either, considering how he froze in place, his light increasing slightly as if preparing for a fight.

 Sunmi just gave an amused smile as she continued to write her number, as well as her name, down.

 “Because that’s part of what I do, I find information on people, places, organisations… You really think I wouldn’t be able to find out who you all are even though I found your secret lair?” Sunmi asked, amusement clear as she handed the pen and paper back to Baekhyun, then gave a salute to them. “I’ll leave you in peace to talk things through, and I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me, then I’ll leave you alone. And all of your information is safe with me, I won’t spill anything to anyone. If there’s something I pride myself on, it’s my discretion.”

 Before anyone got a word in, Sunmi had turned around and headed towards the door, giving a small wave and wink before disappearing through it.

 “What the actual fuck?” Baekhyun whispered, voice a tad higher than normal. Chanyeol could only shrug.

 “Beats me. Emergency meeting?”

 

 “So, Lee Sunmi. I’m not the best at this kind of research, but… It’s clear that she’s talented,” Minseok said with a sigh. “Obvious child prodigy, skipped a shitload of grades, graduated top of her class, all the usual yada, you know. It’s literally like she’s stepped out of a book or something… Anyway, played consult for numerous different companies, including some really big ones, and seemed to be playing on the legal side of things. Though there has always been rumors about her doing more… Illegal things, there has never been enough proof to actually confirm that. Also, nobody really knows where she lives, or what she does between her consult jobs, so she’s elusive as fuck as well.”

 “In other words, no idea if she’s in the bad guys’ pocket or not,” Kyungsoo summarized, tapping his lower lip with a finger.

 Minseok shook his head. “No.  _But_ \- considering she knows where this place is, and so far, no one has come to eradicate us, I’d say that  _probably_ means that she’s serious. About wanting to help us. She seems to be doing things for fun, to challenge herself, and… I mean, what’s more fun and challenging than helping a vigilante catch metahumans?”

 “Whoa, hold up,” Baekhyun spoke up, looking at Minseok. “‘Metahumans’?”

 Minseok looked over at Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, who both shrugged.

 “A name for people who’s altered on a genetical level like you,” Kyungsoo explained.

 “Easier to categorize,” Chanyeol added. “Metahumans versus normal bad guys, and if need ever be, determine which is the most pressing for you to get to.”

 Crossing his arms over his chest, Baekhyun glared at them, not liking it at all.

 “Maybe I don’t want to be categorized? Yeah, fine, I’m not exactly human anymore, but that doesn’t mean I want to be part of a whole other category and removed from the human category?”

 “Baekhyun, you’re not removed from the human category, not at all,” Kyungsoo hurried to say. “You’re still part of the human category, but you’re also part of a smaller category within the human category. A subspecies of Homo Sapiens, if you will.”

 Chanyeol made a vague humming sound, prompting everyone to turn to him.

 “Well… That’s not completely true…,” he mumbled. “In a way, but… There needs to be at least two recognized subspecies, or else a species is not deemed having any subspecies, and since it’s debated whether or not there are any subspecies to Homo Sapiens, it’s both right and wrong?”

 Most of the gathered shot Chanyeol confused looks, whilst Kyungsoo was pinning him with a deadpan stare.

 “I know, Chanyeol. I’ve had those classes as well. I meant it as an example,” Kyungsoo bit out, making Chanyeol squirm a little. “I don’t even know if anybody would consider an artificial instantaneous genetic mutation valid enough to be a subspecies, but it’s basically what it is. Human, but sort of a subspecies to human. Simply explained.”

 “So sort of like Homo Magi?” Jongdae interrupted the two residents, and he was immediately met with even more confused looks. “Like in DC? You know, Zatanna is one…? She has magical powers…?”

 Kyungsoo looked like he was about to protest, but thought better of it and shrugged with a sigh.

 “Yeah, sure, basically, I guess. Anyway, moving on! What are we doing about our lady problem?”

 “Let’s… Take some time and think about it, and give her the opportunity to attack if that’s what she’s going to do,” Baekhyun slowly said, stroking his chin with a finger. “We shouldn’t rush into anything, especially not anything that can endanger us all.”

 “Always so careful when it comes to situations with other people…,” Minseok mumbled, but Baekhyun did not even blink. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s wait for her next move, and see what it is, if it even is anything.”

 The others nodded, and the emergency meeting was dismissed.


	6. Chapter 6

 Baekhyun collapsed into Chanyeol’s apartment through the open window, scaring the shit out of the older.

 “Ow… Ouchie…,” Baekhyun whispered, rolling over onto his stomach as Chanyeol hurried over. “Bullets  _hurt_ …”

 “No shit?” Chanyeol breathed, heart in his throat as he noticed the darker spots on Baekhyun’s back. There were three of them, and though they seemed to be in relative safe spots, he was still worried. “Internal?”

 “Doesn’t feel like they hit something, they’re painful bitches, but not on the level of organ-piercing pain,” Baekhyun mumbled into the floor, before giving a dry chuckle. “Isn’t it pretty depressing that I’ve been majorly injured enough times to be able to tell things like that?”

 “Yeah, it really is, you need to start practicing safe fighting,” Chanyeol muttered as he began to help Baekhyun up. “Come on, let’s get you out of the suit so I can remove the bullets.”

 “Oh no, this is going to be so painful,” Baekhyun whined, but still helping as well as he could.

 “Karma is a bitch, that’s what you get for being stupid,” Chanyeol sing-sang as he finally managed to get the top off of Baekhyun, wincing as he saw the blood and the bullet wounds. “Get on the bed, I’ll fetch what I need…”

 Groaning, Baekhyun did as told, and he was sitting with his back towards Chanyeol when Chanyeol returned. Carefully, Chanyeol sat down behind Baekhyun, using some gauze to wipe the blood away from around the wounds. When done, he exchanged his gloves, and noticed how Baekhyun tensed even more with each snap of latex against skin.

 “Relax,” Chanyeol mumbled, two fingers ghosting over Baekhyun’s vertebra prominens. A shiver ran down the rest of Baekhyun’s spine, but neither commented on it.

 “Easy for you to say, you’re not about to have bullets dug out of your body…,” Baekhyun muttered, but tried to take as deep breaths as his injuries allowed.

 “I know, but it’s easier and less painful for you if you try to relax as much as possible.”

 Clenching his hands around the top of the headboard, Baekhyun pressed his forehead against the cool wood and closed his eyes.

 “Just get fucking on with it,” Baekhyun grumbled, and a low, only slightly amused, chuckle was heard.

 Without any warning, cold, latex-clad fingers began to travel across skin, making Baekhyun jolt from both the cold and the pain. Something even colder, something Baekhyun identified as metal, began to prod into one of the bullet holes, and Baekhyun squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to hold back a whimper.

 “Why did you come here instead of calling me to HQ?” Chanyeol asked in a low voice, obviously trying to distract Baekhyun. Baekhyun wasn’t sure he could be distracted at the moment, but he appreciated the effort. “We have anesthesia in the med bay.”

 “I know you need the sleep, you’ve been helping out too much,” Baekhyun hissed out as he felt the forceps move around inside of his flesh. “ _Shit_ , do you really have to do that?!”

 “Yes, I really do have to do that,” Chanyeol answered in a dry tone, but there was an underlying note of amusement. “So you came here to make sure I got as much rest as possible, instead of having to rush back and forth? That’s awfully kind of you.”

 “Yeah, well, this is  _only awful_ though, so next time I’ll force you to -  _fuck!_ \- to come to HQ instead,” Baekhyun panted, already feeling the sweat gather on his brow. “Why couldn’t I have gotten pain resistance instead of damage resistance?”

 Just then, Chanyeol managed to grip on to the bullet with the forceps, and gently began to coax it out to try to do as little damage as possible to the tissue. After a few seconds of whimpering and whining, Baekhyun could not take it anymore.

 “Just yank it, I have rapid healing!” Baekhyun cried out, but Chanyeol had already gotten the bullet almost all the way, and slowly slid it out.

 Moaning in pain, Baekhyun collapsed fully against the headboard, chest heaving.

 “I’d take damage resistance over pain resistance any day. The pain will go away, the injuries might not,” Chanyeol calmly said as the clinking of the bullet hitting the metallic bowl was heard.

 “Logic doesn’t apply at the moment,” Baekhyun weakly said, sounding way too pitiful.

 “I know, I know, I’m sorry,” Chanyeol whispered as his free hand began to rub circles into Baekhyun’s lower back. “Your rapid healing is making it more painful, since it’s started to close the wounds already, but we’ve got one out now.”

 “One down, two to go…,” Baekhyun chuckled darkly, pulling a pillow into his lap and holding it against his front with one arm wrapped around it, whilst his other hand went back to clinging to the headboard again. “Let’s just get it over with?”

 The next five minutes went past excruciatingly slow for Baekhyun, as Chanyeol prodded and tugged and wiggled his forceps around. Sometimes, the rapid healing really was a pain in the ass, and Baekhyun was feeling that pain right now.

 As his whimpers and whines and gasps rose in strength, Baekhyun decided to bite down on the edge of the pillow in his arm to muffle his cries, and not before long, his jaws were hurting from how hard he was clenching them together.

 The stitches were almost welcomed when Chanyeol began to sew the wounds closed - they were nowhere near as painful as extracting bullets, and Baekhyun had gotten stitches so many times by now that the pain was familiar to him. And Chanyeol always had gentle hands, which helped keep the discomfort to a minimum.

 “There we go, all done,” Chanyeol mumbled as he wiped down Baekhyun’s back, cleaning it up. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

 “I hate you,” Baekhyun managed to get out, head spinning from the pain and from how hard he had clamped down on the pillow. It was almost painful to pry his mouth open enough to let go of the pillow, but Baekhyun was too exhausted by now to even whimper.

 “ _Thank you, Chanyeol, for helping me with the three bullets that might have migrated and punctured important organs_ ,” Chanyeol said in a mocking voice as he put bandaids over the stitched wounds. “No worries, Baekhyun, that’s what I’m here for! Glad to help!”

 “Fuck you,” Baekhyun breathed as he let himself fall over onto his unharmed side, grunting from the impact.

 “You’re not in any condition to do that right now, kiddo,” Chanyeol snorted, cleaning up his stuff and getting out of the bed. “Get some rest.”

 “Ew,” Baekhyun muttered, a pinkish blush on his cheeks as he tried to stretch out his legs, groaning from the effort. “Help?”

 Setting down his tools, Chanyeol gently helped Baekhyun get into a more comfortable position, halfway on his unharmed side and halfway on his stomach, the pillow still against his chest.

 “There you go, now sleep,” Chanyeol said, but before he even had the chance to pick his tools up again, Baekhyun spoke again.

 “But it’s cold…,” Baekhyun whined, curling in a little on himself.

 “You produce warmth on your own!” Chanyeol exclaimed, though he was already reaching for the covers.

 “Uh, I think my body finds it more important to heal my wounds than keep me warm at the moment, actually,” Baekhyun muttered, eyes closing fully as Chanyeol pulled the cover up over him.

 “ _Now_ can you sleep?” Chanyeol asked in a faked exasperated tone, earning himself a one-eyed glare.

 “Stop talking to me so I can sleep,” Baekhyun muttered, and even though Chanyeol could not see his mouth, he still knew that Baekhyun was smiling.

 “You’re such a baby,” Chanyeol sighed as he went to discard the bullets and the tools.

 It was barely audible over the clanking from Chanyeol and because of how far he was standing from the bed, but Chanyeol was sure that he heard a sleepy ‘Thanks, Chanyeol’. Smiling to himself, Chanyeol continued with what he needed to do, before collapsing down onto the sofa, not wanting to disturb the sleeping boy.

 

*

 

 “Hey guys!” a female voice suddenly said, sounding both cheerful and pouty at the same time. “You haven’t called me back yet, and I was starting to miss you all…”

 Baekhyun whirled around to be met by the sight of Sunmi waltzing into the HQ like she was a regular there, and he sighed.

 “We haven’t decided on what to do with you yet, I thought you were going to stay away until we had made a decision?” Baekhyun asked, resignation clear in his voice.

 Sunmi was walking around the room they were currently in, lips pursed in thought as she looked at things, sometimes reaching out to poke at stuff.

 “Well, like I said, I was starting to miss you all, so I thought I could swing by and see how things were going,” Sunmi said, voice sounding a bit too gentle and sweet for Baekhyun to actually believe it. “This place is starting to look better, but I’m still disappointed in the decor.”

 “It’s meant to be functional, not pretty!” Baekhyun protested, rolling his eyes. “I don’t need pretty things, I need things that are working.”

 “He’s pretty, though,” Sunmi said, pointing at something behind Baekhyun.

 Turning, he saw Chanyeol, who looked up and jolted in surprise over seeing their uninvited guest. Narrowing his eyes, Baekhyun turned back towards Sunmi, who was looking rather deceptively innocent.

 “Oh, girlie, don’t you even dare…,” Baekhyun bit out, but Sunmi merely smiled cheekily.

 “What is she doing here?” Chanyeol whispered to Baekhyun as he came to a stop next to him, frowning deeply.

 “Don’t know, she invited herself,” Baekhyun said with a shrug, crossing his arms over his chest. “She says she’s missing us.”

 “But you don’t even know us?” Chanyeol said, head tilted in confusion as he looked over at Sunmi.

 “Hm, no, I know  _about_ you, but I don’t know you, that’s true,” Sunmi mused, tapping her lips with a finger. “But I was still missing you, I feel like this could be a great place to work in. We can be great friends!”

 Baekhyun and Chanyeol just stared at her, flashbacks of the last time they had met going through their heads. She really did not care about whether or not people agreed with her or gave a response.

 “Uh, hello?” somebody said, and Baekhyun looked up to find Minseok standing just inside of the room, the door not even closed behind him yet. “What’s going on?”

 “Minseokkie!” Sunmi exclaimed, entire face lighting up. “Wow, you’re really cute in real life, cuter than on pictures!”

 “I know,” Minseok said, eyebrows raised but face otherwise expressionless. Baekhyun felt rather impressed.

 “Sassy, I like,” Sunmi mumbled, smile changing into a smirk. “I  _definitely_ believe this could be a fun place to hang out…”

 “Have we decided on anything yet?” Minseok asked, looking over at Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

 “No, you haven’t, you’ve been very slow, and I’m not really the most patient person out there,” Sunmi said as she walked over to the large table that had been used as both an unloading table and a dining table. Sliding her bag down her arm, she in one elegant movement extracted her laptop and put it on the table. Baekhyun absently wondered how many times she had done that to make it look so effortless, and if she had practiced it in front of a mirror or something.

 “So! As I’ve been waiting, I’ve been playing around a little with different things!” Sunmi exclaimed, looking giddy like a child about to unwrap presents. “Through my digging and research, I’ve come to learn that Baekhyun’s powers stem from the particle accelerator explosion that happened a few years back,” Sunmi said, faltering a little, before picking up again. “And in the recent years, crimes involving supernatural themes have picked up, pointing to several more having been affected in similar ways as Baekhyun has. It's all very interesting, I have to say, even though I'm not a scientist it's rather exciting… Anyway! I've been working on programs utilizing the security cameras around town and satellites to detect people displaying supernatural abilities. It’s not perfect, and the person has to at least use some of their powers, but it’s something at least. I was able to track Baekhyun with it, since his body’s normal state is powered. Sometimes it’s more muted, but most of the time I can see you.”

 “I… don’t know if I feel comfortable with the fact that you can spy on me, and has done it like that…,” Baekhyun slowly says, frowning and tilting his head. “Why did you spy on me?”

 Sunmi gave Baekhyun a look that told him that he should know, before sighing. “Because you’re the only person I know with supernatural abilities, so you’re a good candidate for testing!”

 As they were talking, Minseok had walked closer to them, scratching his chin as he looked at the screen of the laptop.

 “You hacked into a satellite?” Minseok asked, making Sunmi turn around towards him.

 “Hm, what? No, I don’t have to do that,” Sunmi answered with a smile. “Already have access to a network of them. One of the many perks of working for people in high places.”

 “Do they know that you’re using them for this?” Minseok continued, one eyebrow raised.

 Sunmi gave a pretty devious smirk, shrugging a little.

 “What they don’t know won’t hurt them… It doesn’t affect them in the least, and is there for the safety of the inhabitants of this city, after all, so I think they’ll be pretty okay with it if they ever find out.”

 Minseok nodded slowly as he looked back down at the laptop, a small smile forming on his lips.

 “Okay, I’m convinced. This seem like a good idea, let’s keep her.”

 Sunmi giggled and clapped her hands together as she jumped in place, as both Baekhyun and Chanyeol stared at Minseok in shock.

 “But- What-  _Huh?_ ” Baekhyun tried to voice out his thoughts, failing rather miserably.

 Minseok shrugged at Baekhyun’s attempt to speak, pointing towards the laptop. “She’s resourceful, and knows this stuff better than I do. Plus this program might help us identify bad guys, and so I think we can only win in this situation. I vote for keeping.”

 Sunmi whirled around and looked expectantly at Baekhyun and Chanyeol with a large grin. Baekhyun groaned as he dragged a hand over his face, whilst Chanyeol only sighed and got back to what he had been doing before Sunmi had waltzed inside.

 Knowing that she had won, Sunmi threw a fist into the air and did a small victory dance, before she began to set up.

 “I’ll bring some other stuff tomorrow, this here is too old for me,” Sunmi said as she motioned towards the computer that had so far been used by them. Baekhyun muttered a ‘whatever’ before he also got back to work.

 

 It did not take long before Sunmi was accepted by the rest of the gang. With her being rather attractive, Jongdae was quickly on board, and Baekhyun felt almost a bit sorry for the woman having to withstand the cringe-worthy pick-up attempts. Sunmi did not seem to mind too much, though, as she merely smiled and called Jongdae cute, leaving Jongdae a blushing mess as she continued on with whatever she was doing. Baekhyun had to give it to her, she knew how to handle both herself and others around her.

 Kyungsoo had been a bit harder to convince, having taken a much more hesitant approach to the whole accepting thing. Sunmi seemed to understand this, and made sure to keep out of Kyungsoo’s way, and as friendly as possible with him. Kyungsoo was by no means mean to her in any way - Baekhyun was pretty sure Kyungsoo did not have a bad bone in his entire body, though he was no stranger to poking fun at people - and they kept it polite as Kyungsoo slowly began to warm up to the other.

 And in no time at all, Sunmi was an obvious part of their little team. Her knowledge brought another edge to their operation, especially as she began to polish her program. And it helped Lux a great deal to know what awaited him when he went out to fight crime.

 Which was the case as Lux was going out to take a look at an ongoing crime, Sunmi warning him through the ear-piece.

 “ _There’s something weird with this one, Lux_ ,” Sunmi said, and it sounded as if she was deep in thoughts.

 “Isn’t there something weird with all of us?” Lux snorted as he hurried to where Sunmi had detected the other metahuman or whatever the doctors were calling it. Lux was still not sure if he liked the label, but whatever.

 “ _This is true_ ,” Sunmi said, clearly holding back a laugh. “  _I mean more than the normal weird, if that even makes sense… I showed you the pictures of you, right? How you basically show up as a cluster of light? This guy seems… To be the opposite of that. I’d take it carefully if I was you_.”

 “Shame you’re not me, then,” Lux joked. “I’m here now, has he moved?”

 “ _Nope. Not according to any of my radars, so to speak. But really, be careful. This gives me a really bad vibe…_ ”

 “Sure, mom,” Lux drawled, before sneaking up to the edge of the roof he was on.

 The guy he was after was on a roof a little below the one that Lux was perched on, standing with his back towards Lux. He did not appear to be armed, but if he was anything like Lux, he did not need any weapons. His own body would be enough.

 “Come out, come out and play, Lux!” the guy suddenly shouted, and it had Lux frowning. Should he be able to detect him yet? Was he equipped with his own team helping him in the same way as Sunmi was helping Lux? “I can  _feel_ your light, bring your ass over here so I can extinguish it!”

 Lux rolled his eyes at the overdramatic villain speech, before deciding to reveal himself. After all, he was already spotted somehow, so why not?

 Flinging himself off of the edge of his roof, Lux gracefully landed on the roof below, straightening up and walking towards the guy. He did not seem that dangerous, a little taller than Lux, a little bit more built, but nothing out of the ordinary. Lux had fought worse.

 “Wow, look at you being the stereotypical villain, huh,” Lux quipped, the guy turning around to face him. “Very predictable, though you’re the worst one I’ve met so far.”

 The guy sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. “Because I’m your worst enemy, I’m the one who’ll bring you  _down_.”

 Lux stared at the guy for a second, before bursting out laughing.

 “Oh, shit, I feel  _so_ threatened!” Lux chuckled, wiping the tears from his eyes. “But really, you need to brush up on your punch lines, because that was horribly cringy. Don’t do that shit, man.”

 The guy seemed a bit annoyed by Lux’s words, uncrossing his arms and holding a hand up.  _Darkness_ seemed to form around it, and Lux looked on as his eyebrows drew together in a confused frown.

  _‘This guy seems… To be the opposite of that.’_

 Sunmi’s words echoed in Lux’s head as the guy slowly walked towards him.

 “ _Fuck_ ,” Sunmi breathed, and it fully mirrored Lux’s own thoughts.

 As the guy came closer, Lux prepared himself, hunkering down a little to be ready to parry or attack, but he was taking completely by surprise as the guy went for a straight blow to Lux’s chest.

 And the punch was hard enough to make Lux stumble backwards and fall down, a weird feeling spreading from the area of impact and making him shiver.  _What the fuck was going on?_

 It would be a lie to say that Lux was not a little bit apprehensive. And he wondered very much what the hell was happening. The punch should not have brought him down like that.

 Stumbling back onto his feet, Lux groaned and shook his head a little, before looking up at the new guy, frowning.

 “Why the fuck are you?” he asked, and the guy grinned darkly.

 “Your opposite, idiot,” the guy mocked, before throwing his hands out. “I’m Shade, the darkness to overpower your light!”

 Even with the thumping pain in his back, Lux could not help but snort.

 “‘Shade’? Wow, much imagination…,” Lux chuckled, making Shade drop his hands to his side and scowl.

 “Like ‘Lux’ is any fucking better,” Shade bit out, before clapping his hands together. “Whatever, I don’t have time to stand around and bicker with brats.”

 Pulling his hands apart, Shade formed a ball of the darkness between them, shooting it straight at Lux. The wall of light Lux threw up protect himself was eaten up the darkness, before it slammed into Lux’s gut and made him collapse down onto his knees.

 “ _His darkness cancels your light out, Lux_ ,” Sunmi stressed into Lux’s ear. “  _Try to avoid it more than fight it!_ ”

 “Don’t know if that’ll help much either,” Lux muttered, forcing himself up as he tried to take deep breaths. “If he can cancel me out, I should be able to cancel him out, right?”

 “ _I’ll do the calculations_.”

 The next moment, Shade was on Lux, delivering a kick that Lux easily parried. Grasping Shade’s leg with one arm, Lux brought down his elbow over the other’s thigh hard. As Shade roared in pain, Lux quickly dropped his leg, and kicked Shade backwards with a well-aimed foot to the chest. Stumbling, Shade fell down onto one knee, looking up at Lux with hatred in his black eyes, lips pulled back in a growl.

 Pushing himself up, Shade charged Lux, slamming his open hand against Lux’s chest. Lux saw the black nothingness in Shade’s palm, and tried to parry, but as he forced the first hand away, Shade brought his other one up.

 Lux quietly gasped as he felt cold emptiness creep into his skin and form a hole in his chest, sucking the light out. It was a scary feeling, terrifying even, paralyzing him for a moment. It felt as if his life was trickling out and into Shade, leaving him not quite whole.

 Taking advantage of Lux’s momentary stillness, Shade formed a fist, covering it with darkness, and punched Lux hard in the face. Another hole of nothingness opened up in Lux, more light was siphoned out, and he went down hard.

 Slamming into the ground, Lux realized that it was hurting more than it should. Every punch and hit was hurting more than it normally would when Lux was fighting, and that worried him badly. Seeing Shade lift his foot to bring it down, Lux quickly rolled out of the way, trying his damndest to push himself up, ignore the pain and the fear, and just get up. As long as he remained standing, it would be okay.

 “I think he’s sucking the light out, like a black hole,” Lux whispered as he slowly got up, taking several step backwards. He needed to regroup at the moment, and get his thoughts out to Sunmi. “And I think that leaves me becoming more and more human. It shouldn’t hurt this much…”

 “ _Wait, what? Is that even possible?_ ”

 “ _Yes, it is, light is powering you, and take it away you revert back to human, or even…_ ”

 Lux sighed as he listened to the new voice.

 “Or even something worse, it might kill me,” Lux muttered. “Thanks, Park, a great pick me up at the moment.”

 “ _You should get back, let us try to come up with a plan that isn’t suicidal_ ,” Chanyeol suggested, but Lux could hear that Chanyeol did not really believe in his own words.

 He knew Lux too well.

 “Can’t do that. I just need to avoid the darkness, right?” Lux said, crouching down a little as Shade began to move towards him, and they began to move in a circle. “I can take him in a fight, he relies on his powers and just throwing his strength into everything, I can take him.”

 Before anybody could say anything else, Lux sprang forwards, attacking Shade.

 

 Chanyeol was standing behind Sunmi, watching through the security feed she had plugged into how Lux attacked Shade, obviously going for offense over defense. It might be a good plan, but Chanyeol only felt dread.

 The sound of the door being opened and then slammed close, and running footsteps towards them, broke Chanyeol out of his trance of watching Lux try to avoid Shade’s hits whilst at the same time getting some of his own in. Looking up, he saw a disheveled Kyungsoo get closer, out of breath and frowning.

 “What’s happening, is he okay?” Kyungsoo gasped out as he came to a stop next to Chanyeol and Sunmi, hand pressed against his chest.

 “No,” Sunmi muttered, working on something on one of her screens whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on the one displaying the fight.

 “The guy, Shade, seems to have powers opposite to Baekhyun’s, and they seem to be able to negate Baekhyun’s,” Chanyeol answered tersely. “And it seems like draining Baekhyun reverts him to… At least human.”

 Horror filled Kyungsoo’s eyes as he stepped forwards to be able to see Lux get beaten down yet again, it being obvious that he was hurting pretty badly by now.

 “He needs to get out of there now,” Kyungsoo whispered, glancing up at Chanyeol.

 “He refuses to,” Chanyeol answered, lips twisting into a grimace. “He’s too fucking stubborn for his own good.”

 “And since he is, we need to focus on trying to come up with a plan that might work,” Sunmi bit out, fingers flying over her keyboard. “Put your doctor brains to good use and pray that we come up with something before-”

 Sunmi did not even have the time to finish her sentence before the saw Lux being punched into the ground, Shade quickly on top of him and punching him deeper into the concrete of the roof they were on. It was horrible to see, Lux trying to raise his arms to block, trying to fight Shade off, but it was obvious that he was lacking in strength now.

 Seemingly feeling done with his abuse, Shade got off of Lux, and lifted the vigilante up by the front of his suit. As Lux’s head lolled back, the hood shifted enough for it to be obvious that there were darker patches in his normally brilliantly white hair.

 Shade dragged Lux over to the edge of the roof, and Chanyeol knew what was going to happen. He knew, he saw it all in ultrarapid, but there was nothing he could do but look on in horror.

 Pulling his hand back, Shade built the darkness up around it, before he punched Lux straight in the gut. Shade’s enhanced strength and the fact that they were up on a roof led to Lux flying down, and Sunmi desperately tried to find a new feed for them to see the area where Lux had landed.

 And when she did, Chanyeol’s heart wrenched painfully in his chest. Kyungsoo moved somewhere else, but Chanyeol stood rooted to the ground, eyes glued to the screen.

 “Baekhyun, get away from there  _now!_ ” Sunmi screamed, standing up so abruptly that her chair rolled several meters away. “You can’t do anything more, get away!”

 Holding his breath, Chanyeol watched the screen Sunmi was standing in front of, the security cameras showing Lux lying in the pit with broken asphalt around him, barely moving. Fingers curling, nails digging so hard into his flesh that he was sure it would leave marks, Chanyeol chanted _‘Please, get up’_ inside of his head, over and over again. Shade would be back, and Lux needed to get away, and he needed to get away  _now_.

 Several seconds later - minutes and hours for Chanyeol - Lux finally rolled over onto his stomach, pushing himself up on his hands and knees. The quality of the security feed was too grainy for Chanyeol to be able to do a proper evaluation, but he knew it was bad. So bad that he wondered if Lux would be able to get back on his own.

 “ _C-coming ba-back_ ,” was suddenly breathed through the comms, and Chanyeol exhaled forcefully in relief.

 Lux was talking, and that was somewhat of a good sign. And somewhat of a good sign was great at the moment. Standing up straight, Chanyeol dragged his hands over his face and then into his hair, mentally getting himself under control and preparing himself.

 “The med bay is good to go,” Kyungsoo called out as he ran out from the room, anxiety clear in the wrinkle between his eyebrows. “Is he on his way?”

 “Yes, I’m keeping tabs on him if he needs to be picked up or something happens, I’ll let you know,” Sunmi said, hands on the table as her face was too close to the screen to be good for her eyes.

 Wordlessly, Chanyeol went and retrieved her chair, before bringing it over to Sunmi. She looked up at him, giving a small nod, before sitting down and letting Chanyeol push it forwards a little. Giving Sunmi’s shoulder a quick pat, Chanyeol then walked over to where Kyungsoo was standing, phone out.

 “I’m letting Minseok know that he should be on standby,” Kyungsoo mumbled, thumbs flying over his screen. “This is the first time this… This is not good at all. If… all goes well, we need to make sure to come up with some kind of defense against this guy.”

 “Everything will go well, and we will,” Chanyeol said, a faint whisper that held no real conviction. “We just need to take things as they come, and… Everything will be fine.”

 Having put his phone away, Kyungsoo looked up at Chanyeol with both worry and pity, before taking hold of one of Chanyeol’s hands and gently squeezing it. Chanyeol squeezed back, refusing to dig too deep into why there was pity.

 “He’s in the tunnel now!” Sunmi called out to the them, who immediately sprang into action.

 Chanyeol was the one who got to Baekhyun first, his longer legs giving him a small advantage. Even though the weak light masked a lot of Baekhyun’s injuries, it still looked so bad that Chanyeol felt his heart clench in fear.

 The red handprints dotting the wall after Baekhyun made Chanyeol’s breath hitch in panic, and using a spur of adrenaline or something, he got to Baekhyun’s side in record time and lifted the vigilante up.

 Instead of protesting like he normally would have, Baekhyun went completely lax in Chanyeol’s arms, head lolling back.

 “Probably massive blood loss,” Chanyeol quickly said to Kyungsoo as he caught up, and they began to hurry back. “Near unconsciousness, if not full.”

 Kyungsoo nodded, a worried wrinkle between his eyebrows, but determination glinting in his eyes.

 “Baekhyun? Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo called to the vigilante as they rushed back, trying to tap the younger's cheeks as well as he could whilst they were moving.

 No response.

 Sunmi was standing holding the door wide open to allow them immediate entrance, her face ashen as they went past her into the medical bay.

 Swiftly, Chanyeol put Baekhyun down on the stretcher as Kyungsoo snapped on a pair of gloves and handed another pair to Chanyeol. Picking up a pair of scissors, Kyungsoo got to work on the suit as Chanyeol tried checking for signs of responsiveness.

 “He’s going to hate me so much for this,” Kyungsoo grumbled as he cut through the fabric, starting to expose Baekhyun chest.

 “Probably,” Chanyeol muttered back, checking for any visible tears in the suit as Kyungsoo cut it open. “He’s not responding, his eyes are just completely white, but pulse and breathing seem stable enough-”

 All of a sudden, Baekhyun began to spasm on the stretcher, the lights in the room starting to flicker. Both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo took surprised steps back, glancing up in confusion at each other. Neither were unaccustomed to seizures, but this seemed different.

 Especially as Baekhyun suddenly floated into the air, levitating a good ten centimeters or so above the stretcher.

 The doors to the medical bay were thrown open as a “Baekhyun!” was screamed, but Chanyeol quickly caught Jongdae before he was able to get to Baekhyun.

 “Let go of me!” Jongdae yelled, struggling in Chanyeol’s hold, but this was not the first time Chanyeol had had to hold someone back like this.

 “What are you going to do if I let you go?” Chanyeol rushed out, trying to talk Jongdae out of the panic. “What do you think you can do to help him right now? We don’t know what’s happening, it could  _kill_ you to get close to him, and I don’t think he wants that on his conscious!”

 Jongdae quickly grew still at Chanyeol’s words, hanging almost limply in Chanyeol’s arms, breathing so fast.

 “I- But-,” Jongdae gasped out, one hand coming up to grip at Chanyeol’s bicep, nails digging painfully into his flesh. “You need to  _do_ something!”

 Baekhyun had floated even higher into the air, back arched as his head and legs hung down, arms dangling by his sides, hair moving around his head as if lifted by an invisible gust of wind. With a loud gasp, his eyes flew open, completely white and shining vividly. The flickering light cut out altogether, but Baekhyun’s light was growing brighter by the second, keeping the darkness away.

 Even as it began to hurt his eyes, Chanyeol was unable to look away. Fascinated and mesmerized, he just could not look away from the near blinding being that was Baekhyun. And suddenly, it all made sense.

 Baekhyun had not gotten the power of light from the blast being similar to a solar flare. Baekhyun had gotten his powers from his personality; his warmth, his genuinity,  _his inherent light_. Because Baekhyun shone bright even as  _Baekhyun_ , the face behind Lux’s mask. And not only in the obvious way that he was at the moment.

 The only warning they got was the scream torn from Baekhyun’s throat, before the light reached new heights, too bright now. Pressing Jongdae’s face against his chest, Chanyeol turned and pulled the boy with him, squeezing his eyes as closed as he possibly could, but he still saw the explosion, the back of his eyelids turning bright orange as the light penetrated the thin skin.

 When Chanyeol finally deemed it safe to look back, there was a light ringing in his ears. Blinking his eyes over and over again, he tried to clear them from the temporary damage Baekhyun’s light had done, to try to look around.

 Turning his head, Chanyeol found Baekhyun lying on the stretcher again, his skin softly glowing more normally now. There were some places where the light seemed enhanced - and Chanyeol realized it was where his wounds were.

 “W-what happened?” Jongdae asked, and Chanyeol looked down at him. He looked as dazed as Chanyeol felt, but otherwise seemed fine.

 “Are you okay?” Chanyeol asked as he released Jongdae, holding on to his arm if he needed to catch the younger.

 “Ah, yeah, I feel… Fine?” Jongdae said, pressing a hand to his head as he gave it a light shake, a confused frown on his face. “My head feels a bit strange, but it’s going away. What…?”

 “No idea,” Chanyeol said with a sigh, letting Jongdae go so that he could return to Baekhyun’s side. Kyungsoo was already there, checking Baekhyun’s vitals. “You okay?”

 Kyungsoo glanced up at Chanyeol, eyes a bit glazed over, but he nodded.

 “About as okay as you, I guess. He seems to be even more stable now, and it seems like his wounds have… Not fully healed, but they’re not life-threatening anymore. I think we only need to stitch them together, and then he’ll be good to go.”

 “This is so… Bizarre,” Chanyeol mumbled, mind still a bit blown by Baekhyun’s… Explosion?

 Kyungsoo gave a tight-lipped smile, stepping away to get what they needed to continue their treatment.

 “Welcome to the world of superheros, I guess…”


	7. Chapter 7

 When Baekhyun woke up, it was to an aching body. This was expected though, so he did not feel too bad about it.

 As he began to try to sit up, there was suddenly a hand on his chest, pushing him down, and Baekhyun’s eyes widened in surprise.

 “Oh no, you lay the fuck back down again,” somebody hissed - Jongdae, Baekhyun recognized as his mind began to work properly again. “After the shit you pulled, I’m not letting you out of this bed until you’ve been cleared by both doctors!”

 Shocked, Baekhyun looked up at his best friend, noticing the anger, frustration, and  _fear_ in Jongdae’s eyes. But not fear  _of_ Baekhyun, fear  _for_ Baekhyun.

 What the fuck?

 “What happened?” Baekhyun asked, voice raspy and croaky from how dry his throat was. “I don’t remember anything after I collapsed…”

 Jongdae glared at Baekhyun, very lightly slapping his shoulder, and Baekhyun jolted and pouted in mock hurt.

 “Thanks for reminding me, that’s for how stupid you were!” Jongdae began, crossing his arms over his chest. “Baek, you went  _unconscious_. It was an  _emergency_. If we had a crash cart in here, it would’ve been utilized! You dipped really close to  _death_ because you were being a stubborn ass! Sometimes it’s better to retreat, regroup, and try again, you know?”

 Baekhyun opened his mouth to answer, but Jongdae pressed his hand against it before Baekhyun got the chance to even inhale for his words.

 “No, I’m not fucking done yet, lie down and shut up,” Jongdae grumbled, and Baekhyun wondered what had happened when he was out. “You were so badly injured that your body, according to the nice doctors, went into a kind of panic mode or something, and did whatever it could to heal you. Which meant going supernova, and almost leaving us all blind!”

 Baekhyun tried his hardest to find the strength to reach up and tear Jongdae’s hand away from his mouth, terror dripping into his body like icy water.

 “Wait, what? I almost hurt you?” Baekhyun managed to get out, voice barely above a whisper.

 Jongdae gave a nod and a sigh, sitting down on the chair he had been on, interlacing their fingers.

 “You know the movie Atlantis? The Disney one? You kinda went Kida-mode, like when the crystal call her to protect the city or whatever,” Jongdae explained, voice more calm, but tinged with seriousness and a bit of sadness. “You were so bright… And then you exploded. If Chanyeol hadn’t acted so quickly, I might have been blind now. He forced me to look away from you, and that probably saved my eyesight. And he held me away from you at first, to make sure I wasn’t injured in some way when you began to light up.”

 Fear was fully gripping Baekhyun’s heart now, pulse picking up alongside his breath. That was his worst fear; to accidentally injure someone, especially someone close to him.

 That was why Baekhyun had a hard time letting people close. Jongdae and Minseok were supposed to be the exceptions to the rule, because they had found him, had been there since day one, had helped him - but now they were even more, there were even more potential victims.

 “I know what you’re thinking,” Jongdae mumbled, his voice and the light press of his hand around Baekhyun’s bringing Baekhyun back to reality. “Stop it. It wasn’t your fault. We didn’t know that could happen. I’ve survived you accidentally lashing out before, and I survived this time as well. We all did. Now we know, now we can be a bit more cautious. And maybe it can help make you a bit less inclined to let someone almost kill you…”

 Even as Baekhyun did not really feel reassured, he was still thankful for Jongdae’s effort.

 “Oh, you’re awake. Great!”

 Baekhyun jerked at the new voice, earning himself a snicker from Jongdae, but it quickly died as Baekhyun glared at him. Chanyeol walked into the room and up to the side of Baekhyun’s bed opposite where Jongdae was sitting.

 “We were a bit worried about you,” Chanyeol said, a gentle smile on his face, and Baekhyun wondered if that was how he was with all of his patients.

 It made him feel a little bit less special, because Chanyeol had never been like that with him before, but Baekhyun quickly forced those thoughts away.

 “Sorry,” Baekhyun muttered instead, looking away from Chanyeol.

 “No need to apologize, just happy that you seem okay,” Chanyeol said, the words almost a whisper, and Baekhyun was pretty sure he accidentally clamped down on Jongdae’s hand a bit too hard. “I’m going to do a small examination, alright? Just to make sure that things are still okay?”

 Baekhyun nodded, and immediately he felt a hand on his forehead, rather cool against his elevated temperature. That was a new one, his temperature normally decreased whenever his body was trying to heal a wound, focusing all of the warmth on the area of injury. Did that mean that he had some kind of head injury, or something?

 When the hand did not move, Baekhyun blinked up at Chanyeol. The pediatrician looked rather confused, probably also about why Baekhyun forehead was so warm - after all, Chanyeol had taken care of Baekhyun for a long time now, and knew about most of his body’s quirks. And that really should not sound so suggestive…

 “How’s your head?” Chanyeol asked, and Baekhyun gave a shrug.

 “Like always, I think? Did I hit it when I was out?”

 Chanyeol slowly shook his own head, frown deepening. “Maybe it’s from your powers going haywire…? I need to talk to Kyungsoo about this…”

 “Don’t think we need to worry about lasting brain injury,” Jongdae drawled, a bored look on his face. “He can’t get worse than he is.”

 Chanyeol gave a chuckle as Baekhyun ripped his hand out of Jongdae’s hand, before slapping the back of his head and making him screech.

 “Worst best friend ever, I revoke your bff card!” Baekhyun hissed, and Jongdae pouted.

 “As if, who’s going to be your best friend if I’m not?” Jongdae protested, but Baekhyun refused to give in.

 “You can be my best friend, can’t you, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asked, turning to Chanyeol with a wide-eyed expression.

 The young doctor seemed taken aback and almost panicked for a moment, before he gave half of a smile and nodded.

 “Ah, sure,” Chanyeol said, and Baekhyun turned to Jongdae with a victorious expression, though there was a heavy weight in his chest.

 “See, I don’t need you anymore, you meanie!” Baekhyun cackled, but there was something in Jongdae’s smirk that made him stop.

  _Oh, no…_

 “You should drop an f, though,” Jongdae purred, and Baekhyun was pretty sure he was standing with one foot in the grave of mortification.

 Chanyeol, on the other hand, looked very confused, head tilted cutely as he seemed to think about it, lips moving a little with no sound coming through.

 “Wait, bff stands for ‘best friends forever’, right? So what does bf… Oh.”

 “Oh,” Jongdae echoed, smirk growing even bigger.

 “I don’t have any problems with smiting your ass if you don’t shut up, fucker,” Baekhyun growled.

 Jongdae rolled his eyes, propping his chin up on one hand. “Whatever, I’ll stay silent as the good doctor continues his examination.”

 “I should take a look at your birth certificates, because I’m not sure I believe you’re both 23,” Chanyeol muttered, the barest of blushes over his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

 “Not even Kyungsoo is as boring as you,” Jongdae mumbled, eyes on something on the other side of the room.

 “I mean, I can’t argue against that,” Baekhyun agreed, and Chanyeol looked at them with a hurt look.

 “You think I’m more boring than Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol pouted - actually  _pouted_ \- before placing a hand over his heart. “Wow, shot through the heart!”

 “And you’re to blame!” both Baekhyun and Jongdae screamed, giving high fives which resulted in Baekhyun almost collapsing to the side as the movement tore at his wounds.

 “Okay, okay, no more playing around, boys, let’s continue with the examination,” Chanyeol chuckled, helping Baekhyun back into a better position.

 “It’s  _four_ years, Chanyeol,  _four_ ,” Baekhyun huffed, a bit winded from the pain. “Four years is not enough for you to call us ‘boys’, especially not since we’re not teenagers!”

 Chanyeol gave a small grin as he pulled the blanket laying over Baekhyun’s body down a little, to take a look at one of the wounds.

 “It’s fun to tease you, though,” Chanyeol admitted as he went to get a pair of gloves.

 

 “How much do you think it would cost to get a MRI scanner?” Chanyeol suddenly asked Kyungsoo as they were going over some of the results from different tests. “Wait, how does he react to radiation and things?”

 “We’ve been… Keeping that on the down-low, considering he’s basically a nuclear fusion reactor,” Kyungsoo mumbled, not looking up from his papers. “I  _think_ a CT scanner would be more safe, but… I don’t really want to try it out in a hospital and have hundreds of deaths on my hands.”

 “That’s… Pretty smart of you,” Chanyeol slowly nodded, chewing on his lower lip. “Does he give off radiation?”

 “That he does.”

 “I’m guessing not in high enough doses to actually harm us, considering we’re here and not wearing heavily insulated clothing?”

 “Nope. The thing is, it  _is_ high levels, but it’s somehow… Not harmful. Considering how long he’s lived with the Kim brothers, and they’re showing no radiation sickness, and I haven’t been able to measure it in either them or me, so…,” Kyungsoo answered, ending with a small shrug.

 “But how does that even work?” Chanyeol asked, tapping a pen against his lips.

 Kyungsoo looked up at him with a raised brow. “How does the artificial solar flare from an exploded particle accelerator completely rearrange a person’s DNA and give him supernatural powers equal to that of a star? Honestly, answering how radiating radiation in high doses that doesn’t affect us works is pretty low on my to-do list …”

 A silence settled between them for a few more minutes, only the rustling of papers being heard, before Chanyeol spoke up again.

 “I still think we should explore options, though. To find out why he had a fever when he woke up, and things like that.”

 “I agree. It would do us a lot of good, would help us understand more, so what should we do?”

 “Hm… I guess think about it for now, until we come up with a plan?”

 “That’s a good plan, I approve.”

 “What about repurposing asteroseismology to try to use that?” Sunmi suddenly spoke up, making the two doctors look up at her in confusion. “What? I just did a quick googling, apparently that’s what they use to determine the insides of a star, and he’s basically a star, right…?”

 Kyungsoo and Chanyeol looked at each other, before scooting their chairs over to where Sunmi was sitting, asking her to show them more.

 

*

 

 With each and every day passing of Baekhyun being confined to the hospital bed, he grew more and more antsy. He knew and understood why he was kept there, but it was seriously stressing him out. He wanted to get out again, prowl across the roofs with the stars twinkling above him in companionship, making sure that the sleeping city was safe.

 And when the news came of another attack, Baekhyun could not wait any longer.

 Throwing the covers back, he stumbled out of bed, tearing off the electrodes and sending the machines into a beeping fit. Immediately, Chanyeol came rushing inside, worry on his face quickly being exchanged for apprehension.

 “What are you doing?” he carefully asked as Baekhyun walked past him, Chanyeol following him into the room where Baekhyun knew he would find his suit.

 “My duty,” Baekhyun muttered.

 “Baekhyun-”

 “Don’t you fucking ‘Baekhyun’ me!” Baekhyun snapped back as he located his suit, clenching it hard in his fist as he turned to Chanyeol. “There’s people out there  _dying_ , Chanyeol, when I’m just lying in here, totally useless! My wounds have healed, I’m fine, you can’t keep me confined in here forever just because you don’t understand a part of me! Newsflash, it’s not the only fucking weird thing about me!”

 Chanyeol pursed his lips, face going blank before he gave a terse nod and stepped out of the room, walking away. A pain somewhere beneath his ribs began to ache, but Baekhyun was pretty sure it had nothing to do with anything physical.

 Pushing those thoughts away, Baekhyun suited up, and headed outside.

 

 It was not hard to locate the area of the crime, quite a lot of destruction leading up to it. Lux immediately realized that this was not the work of Shade, but he also knew it would not be easy anyway. Something told him that whoever was behind this probably punched  _hard_.

 And Lux got this confirmed as he missed to block one of the punches, almost falling down to his knees from the sheer force behind it. Yeah. No fun at all. Thankfully, Lux had a bit more combat training, and was able to incapacitate the other, in the end getting away with only some superficial injuries.

 Maybe a damaged rib or two. But he was not sure about that one, and it was not too bad anyway.

 What hurt more was the way Chanyeol had reacted when he had snapped at the taller earlier. He knew that Chanyeol was worried about him, even more so after the last fight Lux had been in, but Lux had  _duties_. He just could not lie still and ignore the people suffering because he was not out there helping them. Even if that meant pushing the people close away.

 “Sunmi, where’s Chanyeol?” Lux mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. He knew he needed to talk to the other, and even though he wanted to push it up, the nagging feeling of claws around his chest promised that he would not get any peace until he just did it.

 “ _Not here, he went home_ ,” Sunmi answered. “  _Go and make things up with him, he deserves that at the very least._ ”

 “I know,” Lux sighed, before he headed in the direction of Chanyeol’s apartment.

 

 Apprehensive, Lux sat on the balcony of Chanyeol’s apartment, chewing on his lower lip as he wondered what to do. He  _should_ just go inside and get it over with, but a bubbling feeling choked his throat up and his hands turned all clammy when he tried to.

 “Are you planning on sitting out here all night?” Chanyeol suddenly mumbled from right beside of Lux, and he jumped in surprise. When the fuck had Chanyeol snuck up on him? And when the fuck had Chanyeol noticed that he had arrived?

 “Sorry,” Lux muttered as he watched Chanyeol retreat his head back inside again, and then got in himself. “I just- sorry.”

 Chanyeol merely shrugged as he motioned for the sofa, and Lux dutifully moved over there.

 “I’m guessing it’s not too bad, considering you’re fit to move around and talk?” Chanyeol asked, and Lux sort of wanted to sink down into the ground.

 Chanyeol was always so happy, but now he seemed almost  _pissed_ , and it was all Lux’s fault.

 “No, not really… A bit bruised and maybe a cracked rib or something, but not anything I’ll die from,” Lux answered in a small voice.

 “Take your suit off,” Chanyeol said, and now he sounded tired, so Lux quickly did as told. “I’m happy you’re not hurt, Baekhyun. Well, more than this.”

 Baekhyun nodded, timidly sitting with his hands pressed between his thighs as Chanyeol walked over. He felt strangely exposed, something he had never really felt - at least not in this way - whilst Chanyeol checked him. It was a bit unsettling, and Baekhyun did not like it.

 Chanyeol settled on the floor next to Baekhyun, one hand going to bring Baekhyun’s arm up, and Baekhyun quickly raised it and held it there, wincing slightly, as Chanyeol took a quick look. Baekhyun knew that he had a forming bruise, he did not even need to look to know, but he was still taken a bit by surprised at the pain zipping through his body as Chanyeol not-so-gently pressed against the area.

 “Sorry,” Chanyeol muttered, and Baekhyun wondered if the young doctor really was sorry or not, throwing a wide-eyed look at the taller. “Really, I am. I’ll be more careful, I promise.”

 Baekhyun felt a bit doubtful at that, but remained seated and still as Chanyeol continued with his evaluation, keeping true to his words of being more gentle.

 “I worry,” Chanyeol suddenly spoke up, and Baekhyun almost jumped into the air in surprise. “About you.”

 “I know,” Baekhyun whispered.

 “You’re reckless.”

 “Yes.”

 “And I don’t like seeing you hurt. Especially not in the way that you were. We still don’t know the extent of the injuries, which is why I’m trying to hold you back. You’re doing a great thing, that’s not what I’m concerned about, I’m concerned about your health at the moment.”

 Baekhyun looked down at the floor as he nodded, already knowing all of this, and understanding where Chanyeol was coming from. But it really did not change anything.

 “I know it doesn’t,” Chanyeol sighed, and Baekhyun realized that he had thought out loud. “Doesn’t mean I won’t worry, though. And still try to make you less foolhardy.”

 Baekhyun was about to open his mouth, to say something, probably sorry yet again, but the vibrating of his phone on Chanyeol’s sofa table pulled his attention away. It was a simple text, sent by Sunmi, but it contained enough information for Baekhyun to stiffen.

 Having noticed Baekhyun’s change in behavior, Chanyeol glanced over at the phone, before sitting up straight and taking a hold of one of Baekhyun’s wrists.

 “Baekhyun, no,” Chanyeol said in a low voice, and Baekhyun could hear fear in it. “Not now, not yet. Please.”

 But Baekhyun wrenched his hand away, shaking his head as he stood up. His entire composure changed, into something Chanyeol did not like at all. Distancing himself from Chanyeol, in the same kind of way that he had barely hours before.

 “I have to. I can’t just ignore it.”

 Chanyeol scrambled to his feet as Baekhyun reached for his suit.

 “Baekhyun, I don’t want to try to talk you out of this, but please. Just wait a little bit longer. He’s trying to draw you out, to be able to bring you down once and for all,” Chanyeol stressed as he watched Baekhyun got dressed. “I know I’m preaching to deaf ears, but I wished you would listen to me at least  _once_. Even though I know it might be near impossible.”

 Baekhyun turned and gave him a cheeky wink, but there was nothing amused about it. It was cold and hard, like the remnants of a stellar death long after all its heat has dispensed.

 “Stop, this is important,” Chanyeol bit out, not appreciating the other’s antics at all. “You don’t even have a plan for how to deal with him! We already know how well it went last time!”

 Baekhyun stretched his arms out to get the suit on properly, a sort of aggression to the movement.

 “He could  _kill_ you!”

 Baekhyun’s hands stilled, and he stood silent for a moment, back against Chanyeol.

 “I know. I know he can. But I don’t have a choice, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, voice surprisingly calm despite how tightly clenched his fists were. “This is probably the closest I’ve come to death since the accident. But I don’t have a choice.  _I_ can do something about it, and so I’m  _going_ to do something about it. To protect everyone.”

 “Can’t you wait?” Chanyeol tried, knowing it would not help, but unable to stop himself from arguing against it. “Just a little bit longer, let us come up with a plan or something-”

 “And let even more people die?” Baekhyun chuckled bitterly, shaking his head, back still towards Chanyeol. “I’ve been away long enough, and I can’t take hearing about another death which I might have been able to prevent.”

 “But who’s going to save them if you’re dead?” Chanyeol lashed out, standing up, hands balled into fists by his sides. “Who’s going to make sure no one else dies if you die?”

 “Failing is not an option!” Baekhyun yelled back, shoulders trembling. “Dying is not an option! Anything other than succeeding  _is not an option!_ ”

 He knew he should back down, he knew he should not bring it this far, but all of the pent-up anger and frustration and  _fear_ came crashing down, and Chanyeol could no longer hold it back.

 “At what cost will success come at? Paralysis? Inability to walk? Inability to see, hear, touch? Inability to  _think_? Trust me, there are many more ways at which you can be alive, yet long for death!”

 That was when Baekhyun whirled around, finally meeting Chanyeol face to face. His lips were pulled back in a growl, eyes shining so bright that Chanyeol could barely look into them without his own eyes tearing up.

 “Oh,  _trust me_ , I know there are! Ever since that fucking day, I’ve thought about it!” Baekhyun bit out, voice low but so much more deadly. “The months I was trapped in a bed, knowing something was wrong with me, but not  _what_. Seeing all of the nurses and doctors fear me, because nobody understood  _what I was_. All of the endless test and trials and  _shit_ , none giving any answers. And the knowledge that I  _should_ be dead. I _shouldn’t_ be alive, I should’ve died that day, together with my mom and my brother. So ex-  _fucking_ -cuse me if I don’t  _care_ about going blind or deaf or paralysed or whatever other possibility you can come up with,  _doctor_ , because this is more important than my life!”

 Chanyeol was speechless. He had no idea what he would, should, or could, say. So he tried the next best thing to get his feelings across.

 Without even thinking about it, Chanyeol cupped Baekhyun’s burning cheeks, and pulled him close, lips against lips. In his agitated state, Baekhyun’s powers were acting up, his skin almost scorching to the touch. Ignoring this completely, not caring about burn injuries or anything, Chanyeol held Baekhyun close as he tried to convey every single one of his tangled and twisted - and unexplored - emotions through the moving of his lips.

 Having tensed up at first, Baekhyun soon relaxed, hands coming up to grasp Chanyeol’s wrists. His temperature rose even more, to the point where he felt like sand exposed to the sun on a warm day, white-hot in that cold sort of way. But it never turned uncomfortable, it was never _burning_ physically. And at the back of his mind, Chanyeol wondered if it was even going to leave marks.

 Even as Chanyeol tried to hold on for a little longer, they both soon needed to breathe, and, unwillingly, Chanyeol pulled back enough for them to be able to gasp some air into their lungs.

 Baekhyun was the first one to gather himself enough to speak.

 “This won’t change anything. I’m still going.”

 With a heavy sigh, Chanyeol leaned his forehead against Baekhyun’s, nodding in defeat. He had known. He had always known that he would never be able to hold Baekhyun back. Not even for the vigilante’s own sake and safety.

 “But thank you for giving me another reason to survive and return…”

 Gentle fingers pried Chanyeol’s hands away, and then they were gone, replaced by the cold air that had Chanyeol shivering. When Chanyeol finally opened his eyes, Baekhyun was long gone, bringing his light with him.

 

 Lux was shaking as he was running across the rooftops. Not out of fear for what he was about to face, no, but out of something else. Relief mixed in with terror.

 He could still feel Chanyeol’s lips on his own, and how gently yet firmly the taller had cradled his face. It made his heart beat so painfully hard in his chest, almost choking him, and it was real bad, because he needed to focus. He was on his way into the lion’s den, and the least he needed at the moment was to be distracted. There were lives at risk.

 And he  _really_ wanted to kiss Chanyeol again, so he for sure could not afford to make any mistakes now.

 Crouching down on the rooftop next to where the hostages were being held, Lux took a moment to breathe deeply and gather himself. He was in the middle of it when a voice suddenly spoke up in his ear, almost making him fall over the edge.

 “ _I didn’t hear anything_ ,” it said, and Lux recognized Sunmi’s voice through his earbud. “  _Unless you want to talk about it, I’ll forget it all_.”

 Lux cursed as he let his head fall forwards, realizing that Sunmi had heard it all.

 “Noona-”

 “ _No, really, if you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll forget about it. I’m a trader of secrets, and some of them are better of forgotten, buried deep in my mind._ ”

 Lux exhaled deeply, shaking his head. “Thanks, noona. I’m guessing you’re ready to go?”

 “ _Probably more ready than you, squirt_ ,” Sunmi joked, and Lux appreciated the effort. “  _I have a list of hostages, and an approximated location for them. I’ll guide you._ ”

 Standing up, Lux stretched a little, shaking the kinks out of his body.

 “Well, then,” Lux said, peeking over the edge. “Let’s get this party started.”

 

 Chanyeol watched in horror as the newscaster recounted for what was going on. It seemed to be going really bad, and Chanyeol could feel his heart in his throat as he caught small glimpses of the fight. People were running and screaming, some of the hostages having made it out, but Chanyeol barely registered it as he tried to find out how it was going with Lux.

  _Baekhyun._

 Biting down on his thumb, Chanyeol tried to not think about how the lips that were now pressed against his skin had been the same lips graced by the white-hot intensity of Baekhyun’s lips just a while ago. It seemed so surreal, and even more so as he watched the news segment.

 Finally, it was reported that all of the hostages had made it out, with reports going apart - some saying no one had died, and some claiming that the death toll was rising as more people were discovered. Unable to breathe properly, Chanyeol pulled out his phone as he kept a close watch on his TV.

 “This really isn’t a good time,” Kyungsoo’s strained voice answered, and Chanyeol sighed.

 “I know, I know, I just wanted to check on the victims,” Chanyeol said, gasping silently as he watched a blurry outline of light against the night sky in the back of the broadcast.

 “No fatalities so far, only one ICU patient,” Kyungsoo quickly answered, before his tone became a bit more gentle. “Tell Baekhyun he did fine, everyone is safe.”

 “I will,” Chanyeol promised, before ending the call.

 He was sitting on the edge of his seat during the next five minutes, before the newscaster frowned and held up a finger to their ear, before looking straight into the camera again.

 “ _It appears that the fight is over, and police forces have been dispatched to handle the hostage taker_ ,” they said, and Chanyeol shakily exhaled, sinking a bit deeper into his sofa. “  _And the vigilante Lux seems to have disappeared from the site as well_.”

 Even more relieved, Chanyeol felt like passing out, but he forced himself to lean forwards and turn the TV off. Now all he could do was to wait, and wait he would do.

 It took another ten minute before Chanyeol heard the sound of someone falling down onto his balcony, and it made his heart race.  _Baekhyun was here._

 “Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said, standing up, as the vigilante gracefully made his way through Chanyeol’s living room window.

 Even with his shining light, Baekhyun’s face was dark, a frown pulling down his eyebrows and the corners of his lips.

 “Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said again, licking his lips, a heavy weight in his stomach. “You did all you could.”

 That was obviously the wrong thing to say, since Baekhyun looked down and away, their height difference making it impossible for Chanyeol to see Baekhyun’s face unless he bent down. But from how hard Baekhyun’s hands were clenched, Chanyeol could guess a lot.

 “Nobody died,” Chanyeol whispered, walking over to where Baekhyun was standing and placing a hand on the vigilante’s shoulder. “I talked with Kyungsoo a while ago, and he said-”

 Hands fisted in a t-shirt yanked, and Chanyeol found himself tugged down, lips against lips with Baekhyun for the second time that day. The heat was there, just like last time, but there was another kind of urgent desperation.

 The last time, it had been Chanyeol trying to desperately cling to Baekhyun, trying to make him stay for just a little bit longer. This time, it was Baekhyun desperately clinging to Chanyeol, trying to be distracted.

 When his mind finally rebooted, Chanyeol found himself standing with his hands on Baekhyun’s hips, already deeply kissing the vigilante. Remembering about what Baekhyun had been through just half an hour ago, Chanyeol forced himself to pull back, panting and gasping for air when he did.

 “Let me take a look at your injuries,” Chanyeol breathlessly got out, somehow managing to keep Baekhyun from reattaching their lips.

 “Later,” Baekhyun mumbled, once more tugging on Chanyeol’s shirt, surprising Chanyeol with his strength. It should be no surprise, though, since Baekhyun’s strength was enhanced, and Chanyeol had seen how muscled Baekhyun was. Baekhyun might even be stronger than Chanyeol had he not had a supernatural advantage already.

 For a few seconds, Chanyeol got lost in how Baekhyun’s lips moved against his, tongues flitting over each other. With a Herculean effort, Chanyeol managed to pull back once more, locking eyes with Baekhyun’s normally blue ones, now so dark they almost seemed black, and it hit Chanyeol hard.

 “Baek-”

 “Chanyeol, it’s nothing even remotely close to life-threatening!” Baekhyun hissed out, eyes flashing dangerously. “Undress me, and you’ll see!”

 The heavy weight in Chanyeol’s stomach turned into melted steel, almost rivaling Baekhyun’s own intense heat. He had been forced to undress Baekhyun several times before, had seen Baekhyun in minimal clothing countless times, but this was something else.

 Something that had started a while back, and Chanyeol did not really know when, but he knew it had grown exponentially ever since he had been introduced to Baekhyun and been able to put a real name on Lux.

 And now they were dancing on the edge of a knife, ready to fall on either one or the other side. It was all up to Chanyeol, now, to make a choice.

 A choice that was slipping further and further away, as Baekhyun’s eyes filled with hesitancy, and he began to pull away.

 Giving in with a groan, Chanyeol once more pulled Baekhyun close and smashed their lips together. It was messy and it was bruising, but it was a long time coming, and way too emotional. Chanyeol could feel his sanity quickly and steadily slipping, but there was one thing left to say.

 One last time, Chanyeol pulled away, cupping Baekhyun’s cheeks in his hands, reveling in the light pink glow across them that he had created.

 “You can’t escape from all the bad things through this, you can’t use sex as a distraction,” Chanyeol murmured, watching as Baekhyun’s glazed-over eyes began to focus a bit more on him. “First and last time I’m allowing you to use me for that.”

 Baekhyun opened his mouth, probably to argue, but Chanyeol pulled him back in before he was able to say a single word. And just like that, everything was re-ignited again, the slanting of their lips creating a spark that combusted their bodies.

 Insistent hands quickly shed clothes, fingers mapping out skin and tangling into hair, whilst lips and tongues and teeth went on full assault. Impatience resulted in bumps and a bit too rough touches, but neither cared. Messy feelings resulted in messy familiarizing of bodies - though there was not much they did not know about each other by now.

 True to his nature, Chanyeol could not help but do a shallow examination, looking over whatever bruises and scratches he could find with relatively gentle fingers and even gentler kisses, compared to the ones he placed on unharmed skin. And Baekhyun let him, reveling in the attention he was showered with, soaking and ultimately willingly drowning in it.

 Collapsing in a tangled heap on the bed, they clung to each other, neither wanting to let go, moving together as one to explore in all the ways they could. The desperation was still there, but changed, now interlaced with the desperation of wanting to be closer, of wanting to feel even more. The impatience switched as the feelings that had been suppressed for so long finally boiled over, and they were overpowered by adoration translating into sweeter touches and kisses.

 Chest to chest, lips to lips, heart to heart, the air was filled with dulcet sighs and breathless moans, as they moved like waves caressing the shore bathed in moonlight. Baekhyun was glowing so incredibly softly, yet Chanyeol had never seen him glisten so brilliantly before.

 And when it all finally became too much, they were forehead to forehead, breathing each other in and exhaling incoherent murmurs, before their entire world sparkled into a silvery white.

 

 “You’re wrong, by the way,” Baekhyun sleepily mumbled, lying on his stomach with his head rested against his folded arms, mellow blue eyes watching Chanyeol softly. “It wasn’t because I wanted to distract myself. Distraction was part of it, but not the real reason.”

 “Then what was the reason?” Chanyeol asked in surprise, caught a bit off guard, but very curious.

 Baekhyun’s eyes softened even more, a gentle smile curving his lips.

 “Just you.”

 Speechless by the bubbling feelings, unable to even think of a response, Chanyeol did what he could - he slid over to Baekhyun’s side and pulled the younger closer, burying his face against white locks, delighting in the soft chuckles tumbling from triangle-shaped lips.

 

 Baekhyun came awake to warm touches all over his back. As he floated up to consciousness, he felt rather pleased about it, but as he started to really wake up, he wondered what was going on.

 “What are you doing?” Baekhyun rasped out, cracking one eye open to find Chanyeol propped up on an elbow, the other arm’s hand moving over Baekhyun’s skin, eyebrows pulled together in concentration. It was a really good look on Chanyeol, and Baekhyun felt himself melt a little bit more.

 “Making sure you’re not actually injured,” Chanyeol answered, already low voice even lower so early in the morning, and it sent shivers down Baekhyun’s spine. “There’s a few bruises, but… I might have been the one responsible for some of them…”

 “Oh my lord, Doctor Park,” Baekhyun lazily drawled, a smirk growing on his lips. “Bruising me when supposed to take care of me? My oh my… Want to know a secret though? I like it, so please do continue…”

 Even as his eyes darkened a tad and a blush began to form on his cheeks, Chanyeol gave a small laugh - a bit of an awkward laugh, to be honest, and Baekhyun suddenly felt like cooing and pulling the older into a hug.

 Instead, he rolled over onto his back, not caring that the cover shifted enough to not doing its job of covering too well anymore, wrapping his arms around the surprised doctor’s shoulders.

 “There  _is_ an ache in my lower back, though, and I think you should take a closer look,” Baekhyun purred, before throwing a leg over Chanyeol’s hips and pulling him down into a searing kiss.

 Everything was exposed and laid bare now, with nothing left to hide, no way to take anything back, and neither Baekhyun nor Chanyeol could find it in themselves to regret a single thing.


	8. Chapter 8

 “So you finally managed to roll out of bed, huh?” Jongdae dryly commented as Baekhyun and Chanyeol walked into HQ, his arms crossed over his chest and a bored look on his face.

 Kyungsoo looked up at them, eyes going up and down, before turning back to whatever he was doing. “Hm, took you long enough…”

 “I think there’s a double meaning to Doctor Do’s words,” Minseok took over, one eyebrow raised. “As in ‘finally you’re here’, and ‘finally you got down and dirty with each other’.”

 “I’m actually pretty relieved, the sexual tension was getting almost unbearable,” Sunmi offhandedly commented, preoccupied with something on her screens. “But please don’t become that super PDA couple, I’m helplessly single and don’t need that in my life right now, honestly.”

 “I can help you with that single status,” Jongdae piped up, earning himself a flat stare.

 “Down, boy,” Sunmi commanded, earning snickers from both Minseok and Kyungsoo.

 Baekhyun and Chanyeol, on the other hand, stood frozen in place, matching blushes on their faces. Glancing over at each other, they quickly looked away from each other, way too embarrassed at the moment by how obvious it apparently was that they had finally given in.

 Had everyone else already known about their feelings?

 Most probably.

 “Can we just focus on the problem at hand?” Baekhyun hissed, ignoring the shit-eating grin growing on Jongdae’s face. Goddammit, he would never live this down. “And you can shut the fuck up.”

 “I didn’t even say anything!” Jongdae complained, but he was still grinning.

 “I can hear your thoughts, so I don’t need you to say anything,” Baekhyun muttered, pinning Jongdae with a hard stare.

 Jongdae simply shrugged, seemingly not bother by the fact that he was currently teasing a literal star in human form.

 “I just wanted to congratulate Doctor Park for finally dropping the ‘f’ from ‘bff’,” Jongdae said, making Baekhyun bury his face in his hands. “Or more adding the ‘d’.”

 Chanyeol seemed to be choking on something behind Baekhyun, and Baekhyun himself wanted to roll into a ball and cry - maybe die in mortification as well.

 He really should get himself a new best friend…

 

 When everything finally settled down and Baekhyun’s cheeks were no longer on fire, they finally got on with what needed to be done.

 In other words, they finally started to talk about Baekhyun’s Shade problem.

 “He’s basically the literal opposite of you,” Kyungsoo said, lazily spinning back and forth in his chair as he tapped a pencil against his lips. “You’re light, he’s darkness. You’re a star, and he’s more like a black hole. And stars don’t do too well against black holes.”

 “Are you telling me I have no chance against this guy? Because that would honestly suck so hard,” Baekhyun groaned.

 “As hard as Cha-” Jongdae had burst out, before Minseok slapped a hand over his mouth.

 “Please try to stay serious for a minute, you can tease them later,” Minseok chastised his younger brother, and Jongdae had a pout on his lips when Minseok removed his hand, but seemed to be about to obey anyway.

 “The thing is,” Kyungsoo continued, as if the interruption had never happened, “black holes sort of live on eating light up. It powers them. If a star gets too close, a black hole will actually eat up the star’s light, pulling it in, until the star dies. And we don’t really want that to happen to you, Baekhyun. So no, you might not have a chance against Shade. We’re still trying to come up with a plan, but so far… We haven’t had much luck.”

 “You can’t overcharge a black hole with light?” Jongdae asked, before making a face. “Wow, my brain made that  _so_ inappropriate.”

 Baekhyun gave it a thought, before choking so violently on his saliva that he almost fell down from the table he was sitting on, Chanyeol worriedly patting his back to help. Baekhyun was not sure it was, though, since that just added to the embarrassment he felt, but finally he managed to calm down.

 “I’m not even going to try to understand that one,” Minseok muttered.

 “Yeah, no, don’t, that wasn’t a nice one,” Sunmi said, wrinkling her nose in distaste, obviously having understood as well.

 “Anyway, back to my question, you can’t do that?” Jongdae resumed the discussion, throwing Baekhyun a wink that had Baekhyun yet again questioning their friendship.

 Whatever, Jongdae had it coming for whenever he managed to snatch himself a girl or boy…

 “Well, I mean… If the star is large enough,  _bright_ enough, and the black hole is small enough,” Kyungsoo began, promptly ignoring Jongdae’s giggle and Baekhyun’s whimper. “Then it might work, I guess? I mean, it’s not something I really have any idea about, that’s not the right kind of science for me to answer, and I’m not even sure if that’s a scenario astronomers have even imagined and tried to answer. It feels like a very dubious plan of action…”

 “But I might have to employ it anyway, since it might be our only hope of bringing him down,” Baekhyun finished, sighing deeply.

 “Obi-Baek Kenobi, you’re our only hope,” Sunmi hummed under her breath, and Jongdae gasped as he turned to stare at her.

 “Holy fucking shit, did you just quote Star Wars?” Jongdae choked out, and Baekhyun almost thought he saw tears in his best friend’s eyes. “Marry me!”

 Sunmi just gave a wink and a small smile, before turning back to whatever she was doing, leaving Jongdae clutching his chest and looking over at Baekhyun, mumbling ‘I’m in love’. Baekhyun rolled his eyes before looking back at the rest.

 “So unless you manage to come up with something else, overcharging is what I’ll do?” Baekhyun clarified.

 Kyungsoo worried his lower lip, frowning, before shaking his head slowly.

 “I don’t think you should try it. Really, it could lead to you just making him even more powerful, and then you’ve given yourself a one-way ticket to whatever is in the afterlife,” Kyungsoo said. “There must be something else we can do, something else to stop him, we just… Have to figure it out.”

 

 “Hey,” Chanyeol said, peeking into the med bay where Baekhyun was currently perched on top of the examination table. “You okay?”

 Baekhyun nodded and gave a small smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. A little bit hopeless about the whole Shade situation, but fine.”

 Chanyeol stepped inside and walked over to Baekhyun, seemingly deliberating for a moment, before sitting down next to Baekhyun. They were sitting so close that their arms and thighs just  _almost_ touched, but to Baekhyun it felt too far away.

 “I’m sure we’ll be able to come up with something,” Chanyeol hummed, hands clasped between his thighs. “We’ve got a pretty smart gang, you know.”

 Baekhyun snorted. “Way to modestly compliment yourself, Doctor Park… But you’re right. We seem to becoming quite the experts on  _metahumans_ now.”

 Chanyeol looked over at Baekhyun with amusement clear on his face.

 “Are you still upset about it? Baekhyun, it’s a name to help simplify things for us. It’s not an insult or anything against you, you’re still a human and that will never change.”

 “What if I turn into a star one day, huh? Then I’ll no longer be human either,” Baekhyun muttered, because yes, he was still upset about the metahuman thing. He felt alienated in a way, and he did not like it.

 “Then I’ll just create a place for you to live here on earth in serenity, and I’ll use your powers to help make the world a better place through solar energy, and I can visit you whenever either of us feel lonely,” Chanyeol said, stated it as if it was a fact that would happen, and Baekhyun could not help but smile.

 “You know, you’re really adorable sometimes,” Baekhyun mumbled, placing his hand on his thigh so that his pinky was resting on Chanyeol’s thigh. Chanyeol was warm, and it was rather comforting and calming.

 “Only when it comes to you,” Chanyeol sing-sang, hooking his own pinky into Baekhyun’s and pulling Baekhyun’s hand on top of his thigh.

 “Nope, so not true,” Baekhyun snorted, gently shoving Chanyeol with his shoulder. “You forget that I’ve seen you with your patients, and you were really adorable with them as well.”

 “Wait,” Chanyeol said, stiffening, and Baekhyun did the same as cold fear invaded his veins.  _What was wrong?_ “You called me a perfect son-in-law that time… And told me to try to not make too many girls swoon… Were you  _infatuated_ with me back then? Were you saying those things because you  _felt_ those things yourself?”

 Baekhyun felt a blush creep up his cheeks, but he refused to acknowledge it as he turned his head away. Though he did not remove his hand.

 “Huh, what, no idea what you’re talking about, nope,” Baekhyun quickly got out, realizing that he was giving himself away, but also unable to stop.

 “Was that why you were so strange afterwards?” Chanyeol asked, and glancing over, Baekhyun could see that the doctor’s eyes were wide. “But that doesn’t really make sense?”

 Groaning, Baekhyun used his free hand to bury his face into.  _Well, fuck it._

 “I was… A bit miffed or whatever because of what you told the nurse,” Baekhyun whispered, hoping his hand would mute his embarrassing confession.

 “What I told the nurse?” Chanyeol asked in confusion, and a few seconds went past as he thought about it. “Oh! I told her that you were the brother of a friend! But I did that to protect both you and me?”

 “Yeah, well, who says feelings are logical?” Baekhyun muttered, wishing he could sink into the floor right about now.

 Chanyeol suddenly giggled cutely from beside him, and Baekhyun could not help but look over at the taller. There was a large grin on his lips and a light pink on his cheeks, and he looked so adorable that Baekhyun sort of wanted to pepper his entire face with kisses. But no, that was going over a line, they had not talked about stuff like that yet- but, well, they had already gone over a line or two that sort of made kisses to the face seem rather small-

 “You’re so cute,” Chanyeol said, interrupting Baekhyun’s thoughts.

 “What the fuck?” Baekhyun blurted out, not used to being called cute, especially not by someone he had feelings for. It made his heart hurt (in a really good way), damn it!

 Chanyeol pulled his hand away from Baekhyun’s, before cupping Baekhyun’s cheeks with them. He was smiling so softly now, but it was still just as breathtaking.

 “You were jealous over me, and you just admitted to having had feelings for me back then,” Chanyeol chuckled. “You’re really cute.”

 “Uh, I had feelings for you way back before that, so…,” Baekhyun managed to get out, though his voice was barely more than a whisper.

 Chanyeol’s smile only grew at that.

 “How long have you had feelings for me?”

 Baekhyun’s face heated up tremendously at that question, and he kind of wanted to hide, but Chanyeol’s gentle grip on his face sort of made that impossible. Not that he thought he could stand on his jelly legs at the moment and get away anyway…

 “Acknowledged or not acknowledged?” Baekhyun nervously asked, opening his mouth again when he saw Chanyeol’s face go slack in surprise, not wanting the other to say something that would embarrass him any further. “Since the beginning, I think! I don’t know, I thought you looked good, and then you took care of me so well, and it sort of changed, and I don’t know when it changed to this! Happy?”

 It took Chanyeol a moment to seemingly gather himself, but as he did, a beautiful smile bloomed on his face that Baekhyun was pretty sure could rival himself in warmth.

 “Very happy,” Chanyeol beamed, before his smile changed into something more teasing. “Wow, imagine how much easier things would’ve been if we just confessed our feelings back then…”

 “Wait, what?” Now it was Baekhyun’s turn to be shocked. “Y-you had feelings for me back then too?!”

 Chanyeol nodded, and Baekhyun groaned as he moved his head out of Chanyeol’s grip to instead bury it against Chanyeol’s chest.

 “Ugh, that sucks so much, I could’ve had a boyfriend for a year now…”

 Baekhyun actually felt Chanyeol’s heart skip a beat, and he turned his face a little to be able to look up at the vividly blushing doctor.

 “B-boyfriend?” Chanyeol stammered out, and a small pang of pain and panic hit Baekhyun’s heart. But he made sure not to show any of this.

 “Well, I guess if you want to-”

 Baekhyun did not manage to finish his sentence, as Chanyeol pulled him up and into a deep kiss that had warm, bubbly happiness flood Baekhyun’s entire body, all the way down to his toes.

 Unfortunately, the incredible kiss was cut short by someone clearing their throat, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol sprung apart to blink like owls at the newcomer.

 “Please no indecencies in the med bay, that’ll be a bitch to disinfect,” Kyungsoo dead-panned, causing the recently-made couple to blush all the way to their roots. “Hate to break this lovely moment up, but… Lux is unfortunately needed.”

 Immediately, Baekhyun flung himself off of the examination table, and rushed towards the door. When he was almost by Kyungsoo’s side, he came to a stop, stood frozen for half a second, before rushing back over to Chanyeol who had just slid down from the table himself.

 Basically throwing himself at the taller, Baekhyun wound his arms around Chanyeol’s shoulders as Chanyeol stumbled backwards a bit, probably only staying upright because of the table behind him. Lips crashed against lips, and Chanyeol seemed to be a bit disoriented but still gave his all, so Baekhyun was rather okay with it.

 “Thanks for the good luck kiss,” Baekhyun breathed against Chanyeol’s lips, before he once more set off, hearing Kyungsoo laugh - probably at Chanyeol - behind him as he quickly hurried to suit up.

 

 Lux felt very uncomfortable as he drew closer to where Sunmi had told him Shade would be. Because apparently Shade had decided to cause a bit of mayhem rather close to Chanyeol’s apartment, and Lux did not like that at all.

 “Ah, Lux, how nice of you to finally join me!” Shade called out when Lux stepped out onto the road, and they faced each other. “Almost thought you were hiding in fear!”

 “Nah, just had some more important things to do before I came to take care of you,” Lux called back, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

 After all, Lux felt that kissing Chanyeol was  _way_ higher on his list of important things than kicking Shade’s ass was. Or having his ass kicked by Shade, very much that one.

 Shade snorted at that as he walked closer, shaking his head. “Nice of you to place the security of the inhabitants of this city lower than whatever the fuck you were doing…”

 Lux sighed tiredly, not wanting to deal with Shade’s shit.

 “What do you want, Shade?”

 “Isn’t that obvious?” Shade asked with a frown. “Beat you. All the other times you escaped before I got the chance, and now I’m going to make sure to beat you once and for all.”

 “Ugh, whatever, bring it on,” Lux muttered, sinking down a little and readying himself.

 One way or the other, Shade was going down tonight. Lux did not know how that would happen, but he would make sure of it. This could not continue on.

 Shade charged him, and Lux tried to steer clear of the light-eating darkness whilst simultaneously parrying and attacking Shade right back. Lux’s upper hand in combat lent itself very useful, as Lux managed to keep somewhat intact for most of the part.

 But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and in Lux’s case, it was with an unblocked punched to his guts.

 Lux gasped as the darkness tore into him, the pain stealing his breath, and he was flung quite some way away. It hurt like a bitch, and Lux gave himself a moment to just absorb and exhale the pain, before he forced himself up again. He was probably going to take a whole lot more of pain before this night was over…

 “ _Heads up, Chanyeol is there_.”

 “What?” Lux hissed as he heard Sunmi’s voice, freezing before glancing around. “What the fuck is he doing here?!”

 “ _He said he wanted to go home since that’s closer to where you are, and then he can take care of you at his place, but then I saw him head towards you instead and thought I should warn you_.”

 “Fucking hell…,” Lux muttered under his breath. “Thanks, noona.”

 “What, are you expecting company?” Shade sneered, and it brought Lux’s mind back to the present. Shit, he really did not need this right now… “Or are you just looking for a way to escape?”

 “Don’t fucking flatter yourself,” Lux called back, summoning more light. “As if I would run and hide from your ugly ass!”

 “You’ve been beaten by me several times now, Lux, I really wouldn’t blame you for fearing me,” Shade cackled, he himself also powering up.

 “I really am going to shut you up, because your voice is so fucking  _annoying_ ,” Lux groaned, and then they were fighting again.

 And yet again, Lux managed to somewhat hold Shade away, until Shade managed to drain enough of Lux’s light away to make him falter. And Lux was yet again thrown backwards, but this time, there was someone there, someone in the corner of his eye trying to get closer.

 Dread filled Lux’s entire being as he saw Chanyeol heading for him, and he held up a hand to make Chanyeol stop. Thankfully, Chanyeol did as told, and Lux tried to as quickly as possible get back up on his feet.

 Shade had not seemed to notice Chanyeol yet, as he was suddenly pouncing on Lux, pulling him up and draining him, before punching Lux yet again.

 Stumbling and going down on one knee, Lux found himself closer to Chanyeol this time around, and locked eyes with the taller to try to will him into understanding that he needed to go away. But Chanyeol did not seem to understand - or want to - and stayed in place.

 “You can’t do it like this, he’s too strong!” Chanyeol whispered as loudly as he could without drawing attention to him. “You need to try something else!

 “Shut up!” Lux hissed right back, really needing Chanyeol to zip it and pull back. But Chanyeol seemed hellbent on trying to kill Lux.

 “Try to overcharge him!” Chanyeol called out a little bit louder, and Lux cursed the doctor for being so stubborn. He was going to draw attention to himself and was basically painting himself as a target! “Go full light and release it all at him!”

 “I don’t think I like you very much,” Shade coldly said, focusing on Chanyeol. Fear and rage filled Lux, and he did not even think before he moved in front of Chanyeol, spreading his arms out to shield the other.

 “Fuck off!” Lux roared, but it was obviously the wrong thing to do as Shade tilted his head, a nasty light in his eyes.

 “You care about him. More than you would about a mere co-worker?” Shade mused, and Lux forced himself to not blush.

 Chanyeol had never been a ‘mere co-worker’. He had always been a caretaker and confidante to Lux. And since the very beginning, he had been rather dear to Lux, even when Lux had refused to acknowledge it.

 “I don’t care about your theories, but I won’t let you fight someone with a clear disadvantage against you,” Lux growled. “I’m your opponent, don’t be a fucking coward and go against someone else!”

 “Who are you calling a coward?” Shade exploded, raising both hands as darkness began to form around them.

 “Chanyeol, go,” Lux muttered, still with his arms outstretched in front of the taller, but his hands were glowing by now.

 “Baek-” Chanyeol tried, but to no avail.

 “ _Please!_ I need to focus, and I can’t risk you,” Lux stressed the words out. “If I’m going to be able to do this, I  _need_ you to get away, to somewhere safe.”

 Even as he wanted to argue, Chanyeol could understand that logic. With a groan, he turned and jogged away - but not before letting his fingertips caress over where he knew Lux’s vertebra prominens was.

 Lux felt the touch like fire on his skin, even though his suit was between Chanyeol’s fingers and his bare back, and he took some comfort in it. He was doing this not only for the safety of the inhabitants of Ashlake City, but also for Chanyeol. To keep Chanyeol safe. Especially now, after having been targeted by Shade.

 Yes, Lux had so much to loose that he simply could not even think about that as an option. It was completely implausible - im _possible_ \- and Lux would make sure it stayed as a distant dream for Shade.

 As Shade lunged, Lux did the same, their hands clasping together as they tried to fight for dominance. As Lux felt himself get drained, he forced his body to produce more energy, more light, until they were both flung away from each other. Managing to stay somewhat upright, Lux recovered before Shade, and used the advantage to charge himself up as much as possible.

 Entire body glowing, Lux floated into the air, a little above the ground, as he felt strangely light. He had never thought levitation would be something he would be able to do, but it seemed as if he was able to.

 Fury was etched into Shade’s face as he got up onto his feet and stretched his arms out, darkness starting to bleed from his form and envelop it, similarly to what Lux was doing. Staring at each other, they stayed like that for a while, before Shade threw his hands forwards, sending a wave of darkness towards Lux. Holding up his own hands in front of him, Lux forced as much light as possible into them, to wrap around them and extend beyond them.

 And when the darkness hit, Lux gasped, feeling it eat up the light around him - but not harming him. Never reaching his skin, never draining from him directly. Shocked, Lux looked up at Shade, who seemed just as surprised.

 Forcing the stun away from his mind, Lux cupped his hands around a growing ball of light, quickly gathering as much energy as possible, feeling it rippling dangerously between his palms. It scared him, honestly, the sheer power he felt in it, but he knew he would need a lot. Maybe even on annihilation level lot.

 “ _Kamehameha, bitch_ ,” Lux snarled, pulling his hands back towards his chest, before pushing them forwards, sending a beam of blinding light towards Shade.

 Shade quickly flung his arms up to try to parry, but from the way he fell down onto the ground and stumbled back, Lux knew that the blow had been big. And Lux’s powers had never really seemed to do that much to Shade.

 Empowered by this revelation, Lux threw his arms out as he summoned all that he got, and even more. He would end this once and for all, and he would do it  _now_.

 

 Chanyeol was sitting hidden behind the corner of a house, looking at the scene with horror in his gut. He hoped that his advice would work, but it was a gamble to take. If anything, it might not overcharge Shade into losing the fight, but maybe into becoming even more powerful. And Chanyeol knew that if that happened, Lux would be dead. And probably he himself as well.

 But when Lux managed to parry Shade’s attack, and when Lux sent Shade back down onto the ground with his own attack, Chanyeol felt hope start to creep up his throat and close it. It was dangerous to hope, yet it was something humans could not help but do.

 Slowly, Lux rose even higher into the sky, his body shining more and more brightly with each passing second. It was becoming too painful to watch, but Chanyeol tried his damndest to.

 And when the light changed, into something less blinding but more brilliant, Chanyeol was rewarded with the sight of Lux hanging in the air, looking as if he was made of a crystal of pure light.

 Shade tried to attack, sending a ball of darkness towards Lux, Lux merely dispelled it with an arrogant wave of his hand. The darkness exploded into a million tiny lights, like stars in the night sky, and it did not seem to have affected Lux in the least. Shade kept trying to attack, realizing just as Chanyeol did that Lux was too powerful for Shade now, and Chanyeol almost felt sorry for the guy.

 Lux kept repelling Shade’s attacks, all of the pinpricks of light coming from the exploding darkness going to surround Lux, floating around him as if in protection, and the beauty of it all was breathtaking. Chanyeol felt enchanted by the light show, amazed and baffled.

 But as the light began to spin faster and faster around Lux, Chanyeol realized that something was about to happen, and if he wanted to keep his eyesight, he would need to look away now. And after all, Chanyeol would very much like to be able to see, since he did never want to look away from Baekhyun ever again.

 Turning back around the corner, Chanyeol pressed an arm against his eyes and waited. He could hear Lux roar, the sound of it strange, a bit like crystals grating together, and then he could  _feel_ the light washing over him. It was warm, like the light from the sun on a summer’s day, and it burned pleasantly all the way into Chanyeol’s soul.

 Chanyeol waited a few seconds after the warmth had dissipated, before he dared remove his arm and look around the corner. Lux was still floating in the air, but Chanyeol could not see Shade anywhere. It was probably for the best, but there was still an uncomfortable twinge in Chanyeol’s chest.

 Lux’s light was rather quickly dying down, and Chanyeol could see that it was disappearing even more than it should, even dimmer than when Baekhyun suppressed his powers. Worried, Chanyeol quickly scrambled to his feet and ran towards the vigilante, watching as the light disappeared extinguished completely.

 Slowly, Baekhyun floated down towards the ground, stumbling a little as his feet touched the pavement. In no time at all, Chanyeol was by his side, catching the younger as he began to tilt, gently sinking down to the ground.

 “Baekhyun?” Chanyeol whispered, trepidation clear in his trembling voice as he reached out with a lightly shaking hand to pull the hood back and expose Baekhyun’s face.

 And when he did, his heart skipped a beat, breath caught in his throat. Because it was not twinkling white hair that greeted him, but black hair. It was not softly glowing skin with pinpricks of stars, but normal skin and dark beauty marks. And as Baekhyun’s eyes fluttered open and looked up at him, it was not light blue eyes that locked with Chanyeol’s, but beautiful brown ones.

 The Baekhyun lying in Chanyeol’s arms was not the vigilante Lux, but the human Baekhyun, the one he had been before the accident. Temporarily drained of his powers, Baekhyun had returned to who he had once been, and Chanyeol could not help but marvel at the absolute beauty of this version of his lover.

 With a deep sigh, Baekhyun closed his eyes yet again, head turning towards Chanyeol as he snuggled closer, exhaustion pulling him down into a deep sleep. Gently pulling the hood up again to hide the boy from the world, Chanyeol lifted him up into his arms, and began to make his way home, careful to not disturb. Even though he was sure that it would take a lot to wake Baekhyun up right now, Chanyeol would rather not risk it…


	9. Epilogue

_One year ago…_

 

_It was a late night, rain lazily drizzling from the sky, and like many times lately, Chanyeol was unable to sleep. Wandering through the partially sleeping city, he tried to get his overactive mind to stop spinning so quickly._

_He had been so stressed with everything lately, unable to really find the motivation to keep going, the enjoyment he had felt in the beginning having faded by the lack of sleep, the stress, how heartbreaking it was when they were_ not  _able to save someone._

 _He knew he helped save more than they lost, but it was still so disheartening, so crushing, and Chanyeol had known this when he went into it all, but he had never fully_ known  _._

 _A loud clang jolted Chanyeol out of his self-pity, and he jerked his head backwards to spot a… A_ human  _falling down from the roofs. He had probably hit one of the metallic balconies on his way down, and hit another railing as Chanyeol watched, before crashing to the ground._

_Gasping, Chanyeol held his breath as he immediately rushed over, falling to his knees and reaching out to check if the person was alright. Before he made contact, though, the person groaned and rolled over onto his back, and Chanyeol realized who it was._

_Lux. Ashlake City’s own vigilante._

_His hood had fallen back, exposing bright white hair, and softly glowing hooded eyes, vibrant skin and small pinpricks of light dotted across it. Nobody had ever really seen Lux face properly, but Chanyeol thought it was a shame. Because Lux was… A bit breathtaking._

_Another pained groan shook Chanyeol from his thoughts, and he quickly did a one-over to make sure that nothing seemed broken._

_“Are you okay?” Chanyeol asked, and the glowing eyes turned on him, focusing and widening in fear. “No, no, it’s fine, I’m not here to hurt you, I saw you fall, I’m a doctor!”_

_Lux, who had begun to move to scramble away from Chanyeol, face twisted in a pained grimace, stilled. Even through his guarded expression, apprehension and disbelief was clear, and Chanyeol wanted to dispel it._

_“I’m Resident Park Chanyeol, I work at Ashlake City University Hospital as a pediatric in training,” Chanyeol rushed out, hoping he sounded as sincere as he was. “At least let me take a look? You took quite the fall…”_

 

_Baekhyun was afraid. Baekhyun was so, so very afraid. The other was still somewhere around here, probably looking for him, and Baekhyun was not sure he was in the shape at the moment to protect the civilian blinking down at him with worried and so large eyes, two large ears cutely poking out through a mess of hair._

_Baekhyun needed to get him away someway, get him to safety._

_“Y-you need to go,” Baekhyun managed to get out, the hits he had taken to his chest and back as he had fallen making his breathing strained. “Get away-”_

_“I’m not going to leave you here like this, obviously injured,” the civilian argued, a frown pulling down his eyebrows, and he really should not look that charming like that. “If I’m going, I’m taking you with me!”_

_Before Baekhyun managed to get anything else out, he suddenly found himself suspended in the air, two strong arms beneath his back and legs. A surprised noise embarrassingly slipped through his lips as he threw an arm around the civilian’s shoulders, hanging on for dear life as he was carried away._

_“Hey! Put me down-”_

_“No, I’m taking you to my place so I can make sure you haven’t broken ribs that are now heading towards your intestines,” the civilian muttered, determination making his eyes shine, and Baekhyun fell silent._

_It was… Rather nice to have someone else, someone unfamiliar, care about him like that. He had been anonymous to so many for so long now, that it felt nice being seen by someone who did not want to kill him._

_“Should you really carry me like this if I’m injured?” Baekhyun piped up in the end, the pain flaring with every step the civilian took. “Shouldn’t I be on a stretcher with one of those neck thingies?”_

_“Cervical collar,” the civilian mumbled, though there was amusement in the way the corners of his lips curled upwards. “And I thought that since you survived falling several floors, hitting balconies on the way down, you’re not in that much danger…”_

_“I’m not sure I trust you as a doctor.”_

_“Too bad, we’re already at my place.”_


	10. Bonus Chapter: Everytime We Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter, woooooo! It's just a silly little thing, really, but it was fun to write x) also pretty old tbh! From July 8th 2018, actually... But yeah, a little thingie for y'all!

 Chanyeol looked up as Baekhyun and Jongdae entered the headquarters, squabbling with each other as per usual. He shook his head with a chuckle, because they really were like brothers, always fighting with each other.

 “You’re so whipped,” Sunmi mumbled from beside him, and Chanyeol glanced over at her in confusion. He was whipped because he found Baekhyun and Jongdae fighting like brothers endearing? How, what?

 “You’re so whipped!” Jongdae exclaimed, making Chanyeol jump and look over at him, because what in the world? Even Sunmi looked up and over at the two younger in surprise.

 “I am  _ not _ whipped!” Baekhyun argued, stomping his foot as he grabbed at the air with both hands, agitation making him glow more than normal.

 “You were singing on Everytime We Touch!”

 “I was  _ humming _ it! Big difference! And I heard it on the radio and it got stuck on my brain!”

 “They don’t play that song on the radio anymore, it’s like ten years old or some shit like that! You! Are! Whipped!”

 Chanyeol felt his face start to heat up, because he knew what song it was. Hell, when it was released, he was a teenager and he used to hear it  _ everywhere _ ! They played it during the parties Chanyeol went to, he had  _ danced _ to it several times!

 Clearing his throat, Chanyeol forced the heat away, giving a small smile as Baekhyun and Jongdae looked up at him in surprise, Baekhyun’s face immediately falling in dread.

 “Did… Did you hear…?” Baekhyun slowly choked out, and even though Chanyeol very much wanted to save his boyfriend the mortification, he had to nod. “Dae, you fucker, I hate you…”

 “What, why do you hate me?!” Jongdae exclaimed, taking half a step back in shock. “So rude!”

 “It’s not that bad, Baekhyun, it’s actually pretty cute,” Chanyeol hurried to say, smiling wider as he saw the pout make its way onto Baekhyun’s lips. “I promise!”

 “I  _ did _ hear it on the radio, and it just got stuck…,” Baekhyun mumbled as he walked over to Chanyeol, out of the blue stradling Chanyeol’s lap and dropping his head down onto Chanyeol’s shoulder.

 Surprised, it took Chanyeol half a second to wrap his arms around his obviously sulking boyfriend. It was not always Baekhyun went clingy on him, but when he did, it was always over the top like this. But Chanyeol loved it.

 “Wait, are you telling me you don’t get this feeling when we kiss?” Chanyeol whispered against Baekhyun’s hair, feeling him tense up. “Or that when we touch you can’t fly?”

 “Why are you so mean to me?” Baekhyun weakly whined against Chanyeol’s shoulder.

 “I’m not mean, I’m hurt that you don’t feel anything when we kiss!” Chanyeol protested, holding back a laugh.

 “I- You- Ugh!” Baekhyun tried to speak, not getting anything properly out. Sitting up straight, he stared straight into Chanyeol’s eyes, before he took hold of Chanyeol’s hand and pressed it against his chest, face started to look rather red. “Can’t you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last…”

 Chanyeol’s own face once more began to heat up as he just stared at Baekhyun in silent wonder, unable to find his mouth. Groaning, Baekhyun leaned forwards again and hid himself against Chanyeol’s neck, muttering something under his breath, and then suddenly Chanyeol’s arms were wrapped tightly around Baekhyun’s back without him even having noticed having moved.

 “Need you by my side,” Chanyeol whispered against Baekhyun’s temple before pressing a soft kiss there, trying to show just how soft and full Baekhyun made his heart feel.

 “So cheesy,” Baekhyun chuckled, retreating out of hiding enough to glance up at Chanyeol and give him a beautiful grin that Chanyeol wanted to catch.

 “Because you’re one to talk,” Chanyeol chuckled, before he pressed their lips together, Baekhyun still smiling as they melted together.

 “Oh, Sunmi, when will we ever?” Jongdae said with an exasperated yet adoring sigh, watching the two lovebirds completely engulfed with each other.

 “When you find the balls to ask me out,” Sunmi answered without missing a beat, making Chanyeol and Baekhyun break apart in surprise.

 Shocked, Jongdae slid from where he had been standing leaned against a table, hitting the ground hard, making Baekhyun burst out laughing loudly.

 “Come on, let me take a look at him,” Chanyeol said, chuckling softly as he nudged at Baekhyun to make him move out of his lap, but Baekhyun just shook his head.

 “The karma, I can’t believe this!” Baekhyun sputtered, actually wiping away a tear. “I knew it would come for you, Dae!”

 “Baekhyun,” Chanyeol tried again, giving Baekhyun a stern look, and with a sigh, Baekhyun got up to let Chanyeol take a look to make sure Jongdae had not seriously injured himself.

 It was nothing more than a bruised hand and a bruised ego - as well as the pure mortification from Baekhyun as he told Jongdae that Sunmi might be able to help him now that his hand was injured, if only he found the courage to ask her. Sunmi sighed and shook her head as Jongdae jumped Baekhyun, and Chanyeol just chuckled before he was forced to save his boyfriend from the clutches of his murderous best friend.


End file.
